Germany national rugby sevens team

History

The team has taken part in the Hong Kong Sevens tournament in the past, its greatest success being a win in the Bowl final in 1990, beating Thailand 28–12. In the 1990s, the team, captained by Rainer Kumm, took part in a number of international tournaments including the Punta del Este Sevens in 1997, where they lost to Argentina in the Plate final and the Paris Sevens in 1996, 1997 (when they defeated Romania in the Bowl final) and 1998 (Bowl finalists, losing to Japan in the final).

Kumm retired in 2000 to take up coaching and was replaced as captain by Mark Schulze, who led the team to the 2000 Sri Lanka Sevens, where they reached the cup semi-final, having won their pool and defeated Hong Kong in the quarter-final.

In 2000 the German Rugby Federation celebrated its centenary. Centenary celebrations included the hosting in 2000 the European leg of qualifying for the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Heidelberg, followed by a Centenary banquet in the Heidelberg Castle. In the tournament the German team thrashed Switzerland and Yugoslavia and lost 12–35 to Ireland, who had Gordon D'Arcy in their line-up.

In 2005 Germany hosted the 2005 World Games where Germany participated in the rugby sevens tournament. After losing all three games on the first day of the tournament, Germany went on to the Bowl semi-finals where they lost 35–12 against France and 31–17 against Japan in the seventh-place final.

After years of playing in the lower ranks of the Sevens Grand Prix, Germany started a continuous rise which ultimately led to a second place in the 2018 Sevens Grand Prix behind Ireland and to winning the 2019 Sevens Grand Prix ahead of France. Since 2016 they participated four times in the Hong Kong Sevens Qualifier where they reached the finals twice.

Germany qualified for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series. In round one of the series they went undefeated in their pool, even beating eventual winners, Kenya. However, losses to Chile in the semi-final, and to Uruguay in the bronze final saw them finish in fourth place. They finished fourth in the overall series and qualified for the SVNS promotion and relegation play-off competition at the 2024 Spain Sevens.

Tournament history

World Cup Sevens record

Summer Olympics record

World Rugby Sevens Series

World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series

World Games

Rugby Europe Sevens

Honours

Rugby Europe Sevens :* Winners: 2019 :* Runner-up: 2018 :* Third-place: 2002 :* Fourth-place: 2003, 2016

Current squad

Squad for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Dubai.

References

References

1. [http://www.totalrugby.de/content/view/2158/38/ Der DRV-Arbeitsplan “Rugby auf dem Weg nach Olympia 2016”] {{in lang. de totalrugby.de, author: [[Claus-Peter Bach]], published: 19 October 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2010
2. [http://www.hksevens.com/Schedule-PastResults-1990.htm Hong Kong Sevens finals: 1990's] {{webarchive. link. (6 February 2010 Hong Kong Sevens official website. Retrieved 9 February 2009)
3. (2024-01-10). "Sevens captains ready for the challenge in Dubai".
4. (2024-01-14). "China and Kenya celebrate Challenger 2024 success in Dubai".
5. (2024-05-19). "China women and Uruguay men win World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024".
6. (2024-05-19). "Uruguay, Kenya, Chile and Germany qualify for men's HSBC SVNS Play-Off in Madrid".
7. "2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series squad list". [[World Rugby]].