Heidelberger TV

The Heidelberger TV is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like basketball, tennis and badminton.

The club has three German rugby union championship finals-appearances to its name, having lost the title game in 1974, 1979 and 1994, but has never won the championship.

History

HTV, formed in 1846, has always stood in the shadow of the other, more successful, rugby clubs in Heidelberg, like SC Neuenheim, Heidelberger RK, RG Heidelberg and TSV Handschuhsheim. It only came to prominence in national rugby when it reached the 1974 final, which was lost 9-15 to SV 08 Ricklingen.

The club made a return to the national final in 1979, this time losing to SC Germania List. After an era of little success, the team reached the German championship final for a third time in 1994, this time losing to TSV Victoria Linden.

HTV declined after this and dropped to 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga level, from where it unsuccessfully tried to return. With the reorganisation of the German league system in 2001, the reduction of the Rugby-Bundesliga to a single division, the task of promotion became even harder and HTV dropped to the mid-field of the league.