the first stage of the competition, the "vorrunde", saw four six-team groupes in which each team played the other five just once. this stage finished in late september after which the second stage started, the "qualifikationsphase", in which the top teams each from the southern and the western group play each other in one group while the top teams from the north and east play each other in another. a new addition compare to the previous season was that the fourth placed team from each division would play the fifth placed in the opposite group to determine the last two places in the second round. the six teams not qualified for the "qualifikationsphase" entered the "drv-pokal", the german rugby union cup, together with the top eight teams of the 2nd bundesliga. the 2nd bundesliga teams not qualified for the "drv-pokal" in turn played for the "liga pokal".