While rugby union probably reached Germany through affluent British students who attended renowned private grammar schools in the German Confederation, studied in Heidelberg, or completed military service in Hannover, there is disagreement about when the game was first played.

Early printed efforts to explain "The Laws of Football Played at Rugby School" was followed by journals and textbooks mentioning the sport.

[1] At a rugby day in Heidelberg on 13 February 1898 for players from that city, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt am Main, Ullrich argued for closer ties with northern clubs and the ultimate establishment of a national body, but found little support.

[1] As no federation had been formed by October 1900 on the occasion of the second Olympic Games in Paris, SC 1880 Frankfurt club was assigned to participate in the rugby section on behalf of Germany, winning the silver medal behind France.

[1] The first national competition was organised in 1900, when on 4 November a South versus North game was held, won 11–3 by northern Germany.

[1] In 1927 the German national rugby union team was set up and played its first international on 17 April in Stade de Colombes in Paris.

Germany, at its height of performance in 1939 and second only to France in continental Europe, lost virtually its whole national team during the war, a predicament from which it has never recovered.

It came to be seen as a very English game and, as a result, rugby lost the financial support and much of the popularity it had gained in the western and northern cities of Heidelberg, Hanover and Frankfurt.

[1] In 1948 the German championship was restored and the golden area of the TSV Victoria Linden begun, the team winning the title six times in a row from 1951 to 1956, an achievement matched only recently by Heidelberger RK.

[10] Rugby showed that it was not immune to the Cold War split when Burt Weiss, an East German player, escaped to West Berlin using a snorkel.

The hoped for increase in interest however did not materialise and rugby remains a minor sport in Germany, almost exclusively played by amateurs.

[9] In 1989 a German women's national 15s team was founded, initially resorting under Germany's youth rugby organization.

The Barbarians included a host of Welsh, English, Scottish, Irish and Australian internationals including Scott Hastings, Peter Stringer, Shaun Longstaff, Jeff Probyn, Frankie Sheahan, Russell Earnshaw, Shaun Connor, John Langford and Derwyn Jones and won 47–19 against a determined German team.

The German federation tendered to host the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup but the event was awarded to England instead.

On 16 April 2016 the DRV undertook to rebuild the women's 15s national team for a period of two years, after which its efficiency and affordability would be evaluated.

The DRV secured a private loan to survive and hoped to attract the sponsors that had withdrawn under Bach as well as to reach a settlement with the ministry.

[15][16] In mid-July 2012 at the Deutsche Rugby Tag (DRT), the DRV's annual general meeting approved a league reform proposed by German international Manuel Wilhelm.

German players occasionally break through into French or English clubs, such as Robert Mohr at La Rochelle or Sascha Fischer at Périgueux.

The German men's national 15s team played their first international match in 1927 against France, but have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.

[20] The German women's national 15s team was founded in 1989 and initially resorted under Germany's youth rugby organization.

Germany reached the 2018 Rugby Europe Men's U18 Sevens Championship's quarter-final matches where they defeated Great Britain 21–10, before losing 21–0 to Ireland in the semi-finals.

[17][18] The German rugby union season starts in September each year and is divided into a championship tournament followed by cup competitions.

• RFC Bad Reichenhall • StuSta München II • TSB Ravensburg Raven s • Würzburger RK 2012 e.V.

SC Gröbenzell/RC Landsberg am Lech • SG TuS Fürstenfeldbrück/TeamMünchen • SG RC Unterföhring II/TV 1861 Ingolstadt • StuSta München III • TSV Nördlingen • TSV 1846 Nürnberg II • TV 1848 Coburg • VFB Ulm Measured by playoff participation, 15-a-side men's clubs from Hannover and Heidelberg dominate the Rugby-Bundesliga.

Heidelberger RK women's side has claimed 7 victories in a row since 2010, a streak broken in 2017 by SC Neuenheim.

The German equivalent for the English terms are: The history of rugby in Germany is documented in the Deutsche Rugby-Sportmuseum at Heidelberg which was opened 2 May 1997 by the then-mayor, Beate Weber.

The museum opens during matches of local clubs SC Neuenheim 02 and TSV Handschusheim, or by special arrangement.