Great German Rugby day

Edmonton – This guest has certainly confirmed he has the level to take part permanently in the gala of the greats: the German Rugby Association’s (DRV) Pick Seven, in which a call-up team took part in the World Championships in Canada, along with overall winners South Africa and strongman Kenyans were among the The winners.

One week after finishing ninth in Vancouver, the team surrounding Sam Ranger (RK Heusenstamm) in Edmonton fared better and earned an impressive fifth. “It could have been more,” said Manuel Wilhelm, DRV Board Member for Competitive Sports, aiming for tight defeats to Ireland (17:19 in the first-round match) and Kenya (17:24 in the quarter-finals). Wilhelm said that this is “in no way a criticism of the performance, but only has to emphasize that we can play at such a high level”. “Now, of course, we hope to have more opportunities to prove it again.”

Ranger doesn’t mind. “We are hungry for more experiences like this,” said the 30-year-old, who was injured in the quarter-finals. However, the two tournaments were a “huge experience”. “After a not so good start and a bit of bad luck in Vancouver, we had big plans for Edmonton.” That was clear. After the unfortunate defeat against Ireland and victories against Great Britain (19:10) and Jamaica (55:5), Reinger said, “Germany took almost the first place”.

However, Ireland touched Great Britain and hit the ball at 12:12 to avoid Kenya in the quarter-finals. Instead, Germany met the physically strong Africans and had the opportunity to force overtime into injury time. A wrong decision by the referee, for which he later apologized, prevented this.

The reaction in the other matches has been very impressive. Against Hong Kong there was a 21-7 win and in the fifth place match a dramatic 24:19 win in overtime against the United States. Chris Ohme (Berlin RC) spectacularly blocked a counterattack shortly before the end of normal time when the score was 19:19: An American wanted to put the ball in the net, but the 1.97-meter giant stole it just above it. promoter. In “extra time” Ohme was there again and made a “golden” attempt. “The boys showed German rugby spirit against the United States – with an impressive defense and incredible demeanor,” he praised national coach Damian McGrath and spoke of a “great day for German rugby.” Cd