Rugby Club Innsbruck (RCI) is a rugby union club in Innsbruck, Austria, and a member of the Tyrolean rugby federation (Tiroler Rugby Landesverband). It has men's, women's and youth teams. In 2025/26 the men's first fifteen played in the Austrian championship and in the Regionalliga of the Bavarian Rugby Federation. The club calls itself fully open and inclusive, and everyone is welcome.
History
RCI was started in 1997 by a group of foreigners living in Tyrol who wanted to keep playing rugby, a sport that was very popular in their home countries. In 1999 it separated from the sports club of the Pädagogische Akademie Innsbruck to become the independent Rugby Club Innsbruck.
In spring 2000 the club began a cooperation with Bolzano Rugby. A joint team finished third at a tournament in Leoben in May 2000, and RCI played its first home match, against Graz, in June. In 2000/01 Innsbruck and Bolzano played together in the Italian regional league, the Campionato Nazionale Serie C2 – Girone Lombardo, where they learned hard lessons against experienced sides. The cooperation with Bolzano later ended. The club was revived around the time of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
The club has fielded its own fifteens team in the Austrian Bundesliga since 2004.
Honours
- Austrian fifteens runners-up (Vizemeister), men: 2007/08, 2008/09, 2013/14, 2016/17
- Bavarian Regionalliga winners, men: 2021/22, 2023/24 (unbeaten)
- Austrian Sevens Rugby Challenge Cup winners: 2006
- Austrian sevens champions, U18: 2021, with RC Linz, by the club's count
Ground
The men's team plays at Sportplatz Sieglanger, where entry to home matches is always free. The club's postal address is Innrain 14, 6020 Innsbruck.
Teams and training
Training times as of August 2026:
| Team | Training |
|---|---|
| Women and men | Tuesday 19:00–21:00, Thursday 19:30–21:30, Sportplatz Sieglanger |
| Youth | Friday 16:00–17:00 |
| Touch rugby | Friday 17:00–18:00 in good weather, Sportplatz Sieglanger |
Ability, experience, age and fitness do not matter. The club also invites people who are in Tyrol only for a short time, such as on holiday in St. Anton or for an Erasmus semester in Innsbruck.
Innsbruck Kids Rugby started in May 2015. The youth section's motto is "fun, friendship and exercise", and its membership fee is optional.
Club life
RCI organises an internationally known snow rugby tournament. The 2026 edition was set for 31 January 2026 at the valley station of the Patscherkofelbahn cable car, Römerstraße 81, Igls. RCI and WRCI together form the "Rugby Innsbruck Family". The women toured to the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in London and the men to a Rugby World Cup in Lyon; on each tour the team played two fifteens friendlies.