Rugby Union Donau Wien (Donau) is a rugby union club in Vienna, Austria. Its teams carry pirate names: the men's first fifteen (Piraten) plays in the Czech Extraliga, the second fifteen (Korsaren) in the Austrian championship, and there is a third fifteen (Freibeuter), a women's team (Piratinnen) and youth teams. The club's motto is "Once a pirate, always a pirate!"
History
The club was founded in 1989 as a youth team of RC Wien, whose players later moved up into the RC Wien senior team. In the same year it won the Austrian youth championship, and it won it again in 1991. In 1999 it merged with RC Wien, although Wien kept separate teams until 2002.
In 2004 Renée Carmine-Jones founded a women's team at the club, then called Rugby Club Donau. By the club's count, it was the second women's team in Austria. From 2008 to 2013, as the number of women in both clubs fell, Donau and Celtic played together as a combined side, FRU (Frauen Rugby Union) Schönbrunn; Donau re-formed its own women's team later in 2012.
After the 2012 season the club had to leave the Sportzentrum Schönbrunn, which made way for a coach park. In 2014 or 2015 the club took over an artificial pitch designed for rugby, with its clubhouse, in Vienna's Prater, laying the foundation for its later success. A further facility at Meiereistraße 20 opened in summer 2024.
In the 2025/26 Austrian championship (Österreich Cup, ÖSTM), the Korsaren beat Stade Rugby Club Wien 70–10 on 18 October 2025 and lost 19–27 to Vienna Celtic RFC on 25 April 2026. They finished third after beating Rugby Wachau/Linz 54–17 in the third-place match on 4 June 2026.
Honours
Honours by the club's count:
- Austrian champions (Staatsmeister), men's second XV (Korsaren): 2025, after two hard-fought final appearances
- Austrian youth championship: 1989, 1991
- Austrian women's Bundesliga winners: 2006, the first edition; the club calls its women "the first Staatsmeisterinnen Austria ever had in rugby"
- Czech women's fifteens champions: 2019, as a combined team with RC Tatra Smíchov
- Lignano Beach Rugby Championship, women: 2018, 2022
- Club of the year (Verein des Jahres), City of Vienna: 2025
By the club's count in 2025, it won the Austrian title in five of six children's and youth competitions. At Lignano Beach Rugby 2024 a women's team and a men's team from the club each finished fourth. By its own count, the club is 28-time Austrian champion.
Third place: 2025/26 Austrian championship (ÖSTM), men's second XV (Korsaren).
Ground
The club plays at the UNION Trendsportzentrum Prater in Vienna. The centre opened in 2014, and its artificial-turf pitch covers 8,000 to 8,200 m². The club has its clubhouse there. The club's address is Meiereistraße 20, 1020 Vienna.
Membership includes use of the club's gym and CrossFit zone from the age of 16, after an induction.
Teams and training
The club's senior and youth teams as of August 2026:
| Team | Description |
|---|---|
| Piraten (men's 1st XV) | Competes in the Czech Extraliga |
| Korsaren (men's 2nd XV) | Austrian championship side; also in the Austro-Hungarian league in 2025/26 |
| Freibeuter (men's 3rd XV) | "The colourful heart of the club", for U19 players, beginners, Old Boys and anyone who loves rugby |
| Piratinnen (women) | In the Austrian league, and in the Czech sevens league since 2019; a combined side with Ostrava in 2026 |
| Mini Piraten and Mini Piratinnen (U6–U12), Junior Pirates (U14–U18), girls U14–U18 | Youth programme |
The club calls the Piratinnen the women's team with the most players in Austria, and puts much of its success down to intensive youth work. It also has Old Boys and touch rugby sections, and regularly enters sevens tournaments.
As of August 2026, the Piraten train on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19:00 to 21:00, and the Freibeuter on Tuesdays from 19:00 to 21:00 and Thursdays from 18:30 to 20:30. The women train on Mondays 19:30–21:30 and Thursdays 19:00–21:00. As of May 2024, the timetable put the women on Tuesdays 18:30–20:30 and Thursdays 19:00–21:00. It also included touch rugby on Mondays from 18:00 to 20:00 and a Sunday session, Rugby Opens Borders, from 15:00 to 17:00. Confirm times with the club.
Youth training times as of August 2026:
| Group | Training |
|---|---|
| U6 | Saturday 10:30–11:30 |
| U8 | Thursday 17:00–18:30, Saturday 10:30–12:00 |
| U10, U12, U14 | Tuesday and Thursday 17:00–18:30, Saturday 10:30–12:00 |
| U16, U18 | Tuesday and Thursday 17:30–19:00, Saturday 11:30–13:00 |
| Girls U14, U16, U18 | Tuesday and Thursday 17:30–19:00 |
The club welcomes both experienced players and newcomers who want to try the sport. Members are registered as players with the Austrian rugby federation. As of August 2026, membership costs €180 per half-year for adults and for children and young people, and €90 per half-year for touch, Old Boys or coaching-only members, payable on 1 September and 1 March. In 2026 the club ran a summer camp open both to existing players and to those holding a rugby ball for the first time. It was for children aged 6 to 14, cost €225 and ran at the Prater from 6 to 10 July and from 31 August to 4 September 2026. The mini rugby section introduces itself in English.