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.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Denmark women's national rugby union team.
Denmark
Nickname(s)Danish Lions
UnionDansk Rugby Union
Head coachIvan Andersen
CaptainJesper G. Jensen
First colours
World Rugby ranking
Current71 (as of 23 November 2020)
First international
Denmark 0 – 6 Sweden
(1949-10-23)
Biggest win
Denmark 100 – 0 Finland
(1987-10-10)
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 and France. There are no professional players that play for Denmark.

The national side is ranked 78th in the world (as of 29 July 2019).[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.

According to the IRB World rankings they are currently rated 60 out of 93 affiliated nations, well above neighbouring rivals Finland in 93rd position.[4]

In 2014, Denmark National Rugby Union Team signed a lucrative 3-year deal with Impact Prowear who provide all kit to the men's senior national team.

Overall Record
Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win percentage
 Andorra10110%
 Armenia20200%
 Austria651083.33%
 Belgium513120%
 Bulgaria10100%
 Croatia50410%
 Czech Republic20200%
 Finland2200100%
 Georgia10100%
 Germany615016.67%
 Hungary431075%
 Israel321075%
 Latvia321075%
 Lithuania1100100%
 Luxembourg2200100%
 Malta211050%
 Moldova10100%
 Morocco10100%
 Netherlands100910%
 Norway13111184.62%
 Poland30300%
 Portugal20200%
 Russia30300%
 Serbia and Montenegro20200%
 Slovenia00000%
 Spain10100%
 Sweden491036320.41%
  Switzerland943244.44%
 Ukraine312033.33%
 West Germany30300%
Total1504893932%

Current squad

Denmark's Elite Player Squad.[5]

  • Caps not updated.
  • Clubs not updated [6]

Head Coach: Ivan Andersen

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Kasper Vad Pedersen Hooker 43 Aarhus RK
Niels Bjerg Jensen Prop 4 CSR-Nanok
Michael friis Larsen Prop Aalborg RK
Daniel Pilgaard Prop 2 Aarhus RK
Kristian Rieberholt Andersen Lock 3 Holstebro RK
Johannes Mackeprang Lock * RK Speed
Gaspard Nau Valbak Flanker * VGA Saint Maur
Nico Vermaak Flanker 3 Lindø RSC
Johannes Soussan Number 8 * CSR-Nanok
Mikkel S. Jensen Scrum-half 3 Aarhus RK
Sylvester Michaelsen Fly-half 2 CSR-Nanok
Andreas Robertson Centre 10 Nottingham Trent University
Jesper G. Jensen (c) Centre 19 Lindø RSC
Oliver Le Roux Wing 4 RK Speed
Christian Melgaard Wing 3 Erritsø GIF Rugby
Joshua Jensen Fullback 1 Hereford Rugby Club
Rasmus Dufke Hooker 1 CSR-Nanok
Niels B. W. Gotfredsen Lock 5 Aarhus RK
Jannick Larsen Flanker 1 Lindø RSC
Andrew Grantham Fullback 10 Aarhus RK
James B Rosenfeldt Scrum-half CSR-Nanok
Thomas Grågaard Wing Holstebro RK
Emad Libis Flanker * CSR-Nanok

References
  1. "IRB Denmark". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  2. https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en
  3. "DRU History". DRU. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  4. "IRB World Rankings". IRB official world rankings. International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  5. "Truppen mod Andorra". Rugby DK. 5 October 2012.
  6. "Arets Talent". Rugby DK. 23 January 2012.
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