Denmark national rugby union team
| Nickname | Danish Lions | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Dansk Rugby Union | |
| Head coach | Andreas Robertson | |
| Captain | Mikkel Andresen | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 71 (as of 17 January 2025) | |
| Highest | 71 (17 January 2025) | |
| Lowest | 77 (29 January 2024) | |
| 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) | ||
The Denmark national rugby union team is governed by Danish Rugby Union and has been playing international rugby since 1949.
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 71st in the world, as of 17th January 2025.[2]
The national side play in Rugby Europe's Conference division: https://www.rugbyeurope.eu/competitions/re-men-s-conference-2024-25 regularly playing sides like Finland and Norway.
History
Rugby Union had been played in Denmark since 1931, but the Danish Rugby Union (DRU) wasn't formed until 1950. The DRU joined the Sports Confederation of Denmark and Rugby Europe in 1971. In 1974, the DRU co-founded the Nordic Rugby Union (now Scandinavian Rugby Union), and in 1988, the DRU joined the International Rugby Board.[3]
The Danish First XV, known as Drusse, participates every year in the European Nation Tournament. In Europe, Denmark is ranked as a second-division side.
Championship tournaments determine seeding for World Cup qualifying pools. Denmark debuted in World Cup competition in October 1992, during qualification for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. They have never qualified for the World Cup, however.
Overall Record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Denmark national XV at test level up until 24 May 2025, updated after match with Moldova.
| 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% |
| 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% |
| Estonia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Finland | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70% |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Germany | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 11.11% |
| Hungary | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
| Israel | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40% |
| Latvia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
| Lithuania | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Luxembourg | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40% |
| Malta | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| Moldova | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| Morocco | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Netherlands | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0% |
| Norway | 21 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 90.48% |
| Poland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Portugal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Serbia | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.33% |
| Slovenia | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33% |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Sweden | 49 | 10 | 36 | 3 | 20.41% |
| Switzerland | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 50% |
| Ukraine | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| West Germany | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 190 | 71 | 109 | 10 | 37.37% |
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
- Head Physio: August Enevoldsen
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 | 7 | 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.
- ^ worldrugby.org. "Women's and Men's Rankings | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ "DRU History". DRU. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
External links
- Danish Rugby Union – Official Site
- Denmark Archived 2016-08-09 at the Wayback Machine on rugbydata.com