'I am probably the only one left' - Germany ready to right wrongs of past

Germany's men's rugby sevens team aims for a top-four finish at this weekend's World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series in Munich. This performance is crucial for qualifying for the promotion and relegation play-off competition at the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid.

Germany's history in the series has been marked by near misses. In 2018, they led Japan 14-12 as normal time ended but conceded a last-minute try, losing 19-14. In 2017, Spain edged them out 12-7 in the qualifier final. The following year Ireland defeated Germany 19-10 in the semi-finals and secured the final spot.

Germany won the first leg of the Challenger Series in Chile in 2020 but only reached the quarter-finals in Uruguay - finishing third overall - while Japan qualified. The 2021 series cancellation due to the pandemic halted their efforts and then disappointment returned in 2022 when Uruguay defeated them 19-15 in the semi-finals.

This weekend Germany is in a different position.

The hosts are determined to end their streak of near misses. Hosting the final tournament in Munich offers a home advantage and the team is focused on breaking their cycle of heartbreak and securing a spot in the HSBC SVNS 2025.

“We had this generation that went through all these qualifiers but we never made it onto the world series,” Clemens von Grumbkow told Jack Zorab on the World Rugby website this week. “The last chance for that generation was 2022. We were probably the best team that year, but I think [previous failures] did haunt them quite a bit. In the pressure situations, they kind of froze and didn’t play as well as they could.

“As a coaching staff we probably put it on them a bit too much saying ‘let’s not miss out again’, and they didn’t play as freely as they could have.

“I am probably the only one left from that staff, and we are trying to not think about those days, we are young and trying to play the best rugby we can.”

The others that carry the same baggage as Von Grumbkow include players Jon Dawe, Niklas Koch and Tim Lichtenberg. Everyone else is bringing a clean slate to the team’s mindset.

“We are aware of our potential and our opportunities,” Von Grumbkow added. “We are not a free-flowing team like France or Fiji. We have a good structure base, good skills, and we work hard. We want our defence to be our identity card, and then be physical in attack.”