RC Lechia Gdańsk

For the football section of the club, see Lechia Gdańsk.
Lechia Gdańsk
Nickname(s) Gdańskie Lwy (Gedanian Lions)
Pasiaki (The stripes)
Władcy Północy (Rulers of the North)
Biało-Zieloni (White-Greens)
Lechiści (Lechistas)
Founded 1956 as "BKS Lechia", 1954 as "TWF" (unofficial)
Location Gdańsk, Poland
Ground(s) MOSiR Stadium (Gdańsk) (Capacity: 12 244)
Chairman Poland Bogdan Jancen
Coach(es) Poland Paweł Lipkowski
League(s) Rugby Ekstraliga
1st kit
2nd kit

Lechia Gdańsk is a Polish rugby union team playing in the Rugby Ekstraliga. It is one of the oldest and most successful teams in Polish rugby.

History

In early days of Polish rugby in 1950's Gdańsk was one of the epicentres of the sport, mainly of interest among students. The very first 2 teams were "AZS Politechnika", the team representing the Gdańsk Polytechnic and the "Technikum Wychowania Fizycznego" team, the team of the Technical Sports College, abbreviated to "TWF". The main driving force behind the TWF team was a man named Henryk Hodiak. When in 1955 rugby became recognised by the Minister of Sport and a national rugby federation was set up, it allowed the start registration process of teams. When "AZS Politechnika" became one of the first teams to register, Hodiak started to look to register his own team in one of the local sports clubs. Thanks to Sławomir Zieleniewski, an activist at BKS Lechia and a lecturer at TWF, and Stanisław Michowski, the headmaster of TWF, talks began with Stefan Kowalski, the director of Lechia.[1]

The club was officially set up on 1 May 1956. The bulk of team was composed of TWF students, strengthened by Lechia players from other sections of the club. The first match was against the aforementioned Politechnic. The friendly match took place on 21 September 1956 with a disputed result of 14:0 win over AZS, which was disputed due to claims that no one was keeping score.[2]

Poland's first ever rugby season was in 1956 between September and December. There was no national league but only 5 regional divisions which were meant to determine who shall play in the top flight which was to be established later on. Lechia's first official match was played against Stal Gdańsk on 16 September 1956 and finished in a 6:6 draw. Few days later on 1 November Lechia won their first official match 6:3, away against Goplania Inowrocław.[3]

After that Lechia began to play in national competitions, and whereas most other teams quickly folded after the initial first few seasons, Lechia went to win numerous titles, and remain to this day the only team never to have been relegated from the top division.

Honours

Senior

Junior

Rugby Sevens

League History

Year League Position Played W D L Pts. Dif. Pts. ↑↓
1958 I liga 10 18 3 2 13 68-221 24
1959 I liga 7 11 5 2 4 57-71 23
1960 I liga 1 14 10 2 2 116-64 36
1961 I liga 1 15 14 - 1 311-45 43
1962 I liga 3 8 5 - 3 129-53 18
1963 I liga 2 6 3 - 3 61-73 12
1964 I liga 4 7 1 2 4 55-103 11
1965 I liga 4 10 3 - 7 108-128 16
1966 I liga 4 10 4 - 6 127-144 18
1967 I liga 3 12 7 - 5 137-116 26
1968 I liga 3 12 6 1 5 111-118 25
1969 I liga 3 14 9 1 4 172-89 33
1970 I liga 1 16 15 - 1 263-84 46
1971 Puchar Polski 2 9 7 - 2 151-47 23
1971/72 I liga 2 20 15 1 4 278-180 51
1972/73 I liga 2 20 14 1 5 528-187 49
1973/74 I liga 3 20 9 3 8 223-204 41
1974/75 I liga 4 20 10 - 10 277-253 39
1975/76 I liga 6 14 5 1 8 144-194 25
1976/77 I liga 3 14 10 - 4 248-128 34
1977/78 I liga 5 14 6 - 8 201-287 26
1978/79 I liga 5 14 5 2 7 269-246 25
1979/80 I liga 7 14 4 - 10 155-226 22
1980/81 I liga 3 14 9 - 5 191-140 32
1981/82 I liga 2 16 11 - 5 278-173 38
1983 I liga 6 14 5 1 8 255-193 25
1984 I liga 4 14 8 - 6 176-167 30
1985 I liga 2 14 9 2 3 205-96 34
1986 I liga 2 18 15 - 3 360-139 48
1987 I liga 3 17 9 1 7 272-216 36
1988 I liga 3 17 14 - 3 401-156 44
1989 I liga 5 14 9 - 5 269-214 32
1990 I liga 6 14 6 1 7 213-209 27
1991 I liga 2 12 8 1 3 272-134 29
1992 I liga 4 14 4 2 8 262-211 24
1993 I liga 2 16 11 2 3 350-176 40
1994 I liga 1 16 15 - 1 464-117 46
1995 I liga 1 14 12 - 2 574-171 38
1996 I liga 1 16 13 - 2 560-199 42
1997 I liga 2 16 11 - 5 565-262 38
1998 I liga 1 10 8 - 2 369-160 26
1998/99 I liga 3 14 10 - 4 536-225 34
1999/00 I liga 1 14 12 - 2 447-123 38
2000/01 I liga 1 16 15 - 1 606-194 46
2001/02 I liga 1 18 15 1 2 557-196 49
2002/03 I liga 4 16 10 - 6 410-324 36
2003/04 I liga 3 16 11 1 4 475-238 39
2004/05 I liga 4 16 9 1 6 426-207 35
2005/06 I liga 5 18 11 - 7 490-265 40
2006/07 I liga 4
2007/08 I liga 3
2008/09 I liga 3
2009/10 Ekstraliga 2
Year League Position Played W D L Pts. Dif. Pts.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf
  2. ↑ http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf
  3. ↑ http://lechiarugby.pl/Zarys_50_lat_RC_Lechia.pdf
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