Denmark national rugby union team
The Denmark national rugby union team is governed by Dansk Rugby Union and has been playing international rugby since 1949.
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| Nickname(s) | Danish Lions | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Dansk Rugby Union | |
| Head coach | Junaire Brown | |
| Captain | Mikkel Andresen | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 75 (as of 16 January 2023) | |
| Highest | 71 (1 October 2022) | |
| First international | ||
 Denmark 0 – 6 Sweden  (1949-10-23) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
Denmark 127 – 5 Estonia  (2018-04-28) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
Denmark 7 – 104 Russia  (2000-05-13) | ||
DRU now has nearly 2,500 members in more than 30 clubs.[1]
The DRU Superliga is the highest tier of the national rugby union competition in Denmark. Most of the national team's players play in the local league, however a handful of them play in amateur clubs in England, Sweden and France. There are no professional players that play for Denmark.
The national side is ranked 75th in the world, as of 16 January 2023.[2]
History
Rugby Union had been played in Denmark since 1931, but the Danish Rugby Union wasn't formed till 1950. DRU joined the Sports Confederation of Denmark in 1971 and later that year the FIRA-AER (European rugby union). In 1974 DRU co-founded the Nordic Rugby Union (now Scandinavian Rugby Union) and in 1988 DRU joined the IRB (International Rugby Board).[3]
The Danish 1st XV (known as Drusse) participates every year in the European nation tournament (EM). In Europe below the premier rugby nations, the remaining countries are divided into six divisions, where Denmark is located in the second division.
Championship tournaments determines seeding for World Cup qualifying pools. Denmark debuted in World Cup competition in Andorra, October 1992 (1995 classification). The Danish national team reached the second round of the most recent World Cup qualifiers having never qualified fully.
Overall Record
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Armenia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Austria | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.33% |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20% |
 Bulgaria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Croatia | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0% |
 Czech Republic | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Finland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Germany | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% |
 Hungary | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
 Israel | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
 Latvia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
 Lithuania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Luxembourg | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Malta | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Moldova | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Morocco | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Netherlands | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0% |
 Norway | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 84.62% |
 Poland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
 Portugal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Serbia and Montenegro | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
 Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Sweden | 49 | 10 | 36 | 3 | 20.41% |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Switzerland | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 44.44% |
 Ukraine | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| West Germany | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 150 | 48 | 93 | 9 | 32% |
Current squad
Starting line-up for the 2023-24 Rugby Europe Conference match against Finland.
- Caps & age not updated.
- Head coach: Andreas Robertson
- Managers: Palle Andersen & Ruben Garcia Pedersen
- Assistant coaches: Chris Adby & Rich Groom
- Physios: Lea Barfoed, Sune Hougaard Nielsen, Manuela Milanesi & Nacho Vidondo
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulela Butsheke | Prop | 7 | RK Speed | |
| Marcus Borup | Hooker | 2 |  Chelmsford R.F.C. | |
| Zak Underwood | Prop | 1 | Hammersmith & Fulham RFC | |
| Kenny Uddal Calmar | Lock | 20 | Aarhus RK | |
| Hamish Coventry | Lock | 6 | Frederiksberg RK | |
| Jeppe Maagaard Holm | Flanker | 23 | RK Speed | |
| Marius Fricault | Flanker | 2 | RK Speed | |
| Mikkel Andresen (c) | Number 8 | 19 | Kenilworth RFC | |
| Thorbjorn Vestergaard | Scrum-half | 23 | Aarhus RK | |
| Oliver Hvass | Fly-half | 4 | RK Speed | |
| Victor Hounou | Wing | 5 | RK Speed | |
| Joshua Jensen | Centre | 41 | Swindon RFC | |
| Simon Maagaard Holm | Centre | 6 | RK Speed | |
| Rasmus Madum | Wing | 2 | Frederiksberg RK | |
| Mads Søgaard Jørgensen | Fullback | 2 | RK Speed | |
| Ali Kamil | Prop | 3 | RK Speed | |
| Nicholas Bertelsen | Prop | 1 | RK Speed | |
| Rasmus Brofeldt | ?? | 1 | RK Speed | |
| Adam van Geyzel | ?? | 1 | Aarhus RK | |
| Nils Hagen | ?? | 1 | Lugi Lions RFC | |
| Axel Örn Petursson | Flanker | 4 | CSR-Nanok | |
| Henry Miller | ?? | 0 | Frederiksberg RK | |
| Otto Käszner | ?? | 4 | Frederiksberg RK |
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.
| Player | Pos | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emil Svinth Aagaard | Hooker | Frederiksberg RK |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Michael Friis Larsen | Prop | Aalborg RK |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Federico Haedo | Flanker |  San Isidro Club |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Dan Wiggins | Scrum Half | Hitchin RFC |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Ben Wiggins | Fly Half | Hitchin RFC |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Gerard Hounou | Wing | RK Speed |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
| Alexandros Mintsioulis | Hooker | Frederiksberg RK |
v. Andorra, 30 September 2023 | ||
References
- "IRB Denmark". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- "Men's Rankings | World Rugby".
- "DRU History". DRU. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
External links
- Dansk Rugby Union – Official Site
- Denmark on rugbydata.com
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