Germany national rugby sevens team

1990s

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).

German Rugby Centenary

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 of the European leg of the 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 came close to upsetting Ireland, who had Gordon D'Arcy in their line-up.

IRB World Sevens

Germany participated in the inaugural 1999-00 World Sevens Series, entering the tournaments in Punta del Este and Mar del Plata in 2000. The team reached the bowl final in Punta del Este, defeating the USA in the semi-final, but lost the final to France.

Germany was invited to two events of the 2005-06 World Sevens Series, the tournaments in Paris and London. In the Paris Sevens, held 27–28 May 2006, the team lost to Argentina (0–40), New Zealand (5–59) and Portugal (20–28) in the group stages. In the Shield semi-final, it beat Russia (17-14) before going down to Scotland in the final (0-40).

The following week, in the London Sevens, Germany played and lost to Australia (12–40), England (0–51) and Kenya (7–35) in the group games. After a Shield semi-final loss to Canada (17–29), the team ended the tournament without a win. It received an invitation to the 2009 London Sevens, where it competed against Australia, Wales, South Africa, Samoa and Canada, without winning a game. The German squad at the event was:

Rugby World Cup Sevens

Germany took part in the qualifying tournament to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, held at Faro in Portugal, in July 2012. The team finished in the top eight in the group stage, courtesy to a win over Belgium after first losing to France and Georgia. The team then lost in the knock out stages to Spain and Scotland, thereby missing out on World Cup qualification.

Germany was hit by injuries before the tournament with regular captain Mustafa Güngör and his replacement, Tim Kasten, both ruled out. The following players were in the German squad:

2002–2007

In the first edition of the European championship, in 2002, held at Heidelberg, Germany achieved an impressive third place with a win over France, which had beaten Germany in the group stages.

The year after, the team finished one spot lower, in fourth place, the tournament once more having been held at Heidelberg. In 2005, in Spain, a 15th-place finish did not reflect the teams performance. In a tough group with Ireland, France and the Czech Republic, the team lead Ireland in its first game most of the way, to lose 17-26 in the end. In game two, France scored two early tries and, after this, it was only Germany that was attacking, going down 5-12 in the end. The third game, against Czech Republic, was a clear loss and in the round for the places thirteen to sixteen, the team could only win one game, against Croatia.

The 2005 event was held in Moscow and the German team fared much better, losing the Plate final to Spain 14-25, finishing sixth. The German Sevens side also took part in the World Games 2005 in Duisburg, where it finished 8th.

Germany fielded an under strength, young side in the 2006 qualifying process for the tournament which was held in Moscow once more and consequently missed out. The team was however invited to two IRB Sevens World Series events, in France and England and preferred to concentrate on these events.

In the run-up to the 2007 tournament, Germany managed to win one of the qualifying events but then disappointed in Moscow, when a tenth place was all it could achieve after only beating Andorra and Lithuania.

2008

With the tournament returning to Germany in 2008, to Hannover, as the 2008 Hannover Sevens, Germany was hoping to finish in the top five and earn qualification to the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. With narrow loses to Portugal, the winner, Spain and Italy and only one clear defeat, 0-26 to Georgia, the team reached only the seventh place and missed out on its dream. In the qualification tournaments beforehand, Germany came second in Croatia, behind Italy and fourth in the event in the Czech Republic. Germany's team at the event was:

2009

In 2009, the tournament was held in Hannover once more, giving the team direct qualification and the home advantage. Germany again took part in two qualifying tournaments, first at Split, Croatia (30–31 May 2009) and then at Ostrava once more (6–7 June 2009).

Germany showed a disappointing performance at the 2009 Hannover Sevens, losing all four group games and only winning its ninth place game against Poland, thereby coming second-last. The German team at the event was:

As a consequence of this, the two coaches, Rainer Kumm and Philip Stevenson where dismissed from their positions in August 2009. George Simpkin was confirmed as the new coach in February 2010. Because of financial difficulties, Simpkin had to be dismissed in January 2011. Peter Ianusevici and Mustafa Güngör were confirmed as the new coaches of the sevens team.

2010

Germany took part in two qualifying tournaments in 2010, one in Split, Croatia, and the other in Pathos, Cyprus. It finished third in the first event but only managed a sixth place in Cyprus, thereby missing out on qualification to the 2010 finals tournament.

Germany fielded a young team in both qualifying tournaments, consisting of:

2011

The 2011 season saw a modified competition, in which the top nations would play a 7s Grand Prix Series, while Germany was grouped in the European Championship, which was now the second tier, attempting to gain promotion to the Grand Prix Series. Two tournaments were held for this purpose, one in Gdańsk, Poland and the other in Heidelberg, Germany.

The Gdańsk event finished with Belgium winning the tournament while Germany came third, having suffered a 21-24 loss to Sweden in the semi-finals. At Heidelberg, Germany was more successful, winning every game and defeating Poland in extra time in the final. Curiously, Germany was almost beaten by one of its own players. Sam Rainger, part of the pool of reserve players Germany as the host had to provide, was selected by Poland for the final and scored a try in extra time against his own country, which was however denied. By winning the tournament and Belgium only coming fourth, Germany was able to gain promotion to the Grand Prix Series for 2012.

Germany fielded the following team in the two tournaments:

2012

Germany took part in all three Grand Prix Series events, held in Lyon, Moscow and Odense.

At the Lyon tournament, Germany lost all five group matches, facing France, Italy, Wales, Russia and Portugal. The team then also lost in the Bowl semi finals to Netherlands but prevented a last-place finish with a win over the Ukraine. After the first Grand Prix Series tournament German coach Peter Ianusevici announced that he would be stepping down to take up a position with the Romanian federation instead after 20 years as Bundestrainer and in varying tasks with the German federation. He was replaced by New Zealander Phil "Lofty" Stevenson for the remainder of the season.

Germany played its best tournament in 2012 at the Moscow sevens. The team won its opener against Scotland but then lost the remaining group matches. In the Bowl semi finals it defeated the Netherlands before winning the Bowl by overcoming Italy.

In the third tournament, held with 16 teams instead of the twelve in the previous two, Germany lost its group matches to England and Scotland but defeated host Denmark. It defeated Lithuania in the quarter finals but once more lost to the Netherlands in the Bowl semi finals to be saved from a last place finish by another win against the Ukraine.

In the overall standings Germany finished eleventh out of twelve teams with the Netherlands coming last and suffering relegation while England won the series ahead of Portugal and France.

Final standings

The German results in the European championship. From 2011 onwards, the top nations competed in a 7s Grand Prix Series, with the European Championship functioning as a second tier below it:

World Games

The German Sevens team took part in the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, where it finished 8th. The following players were selected to play for Germany:

Results

Germany's results in official international competitions since 2008. Results in other sevens tournaments are not shown.

2012

Squad

Squad at 2016 Hong Kong Sevens:

2011 European Championships

The following players were nominated for the German team for the 2011 European Championship campaign:

Hannover Sevens

The following players have played for the German Sevens team at the Hannover Sevens:

IRB Sevens

As of 2009, the following players have played for the German Sevens team at the London Sevens: