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Germany have begun a final training camp ahead of the World Cup Repechage tournament that begins next weekend in Marseille. New coach Mike Ford has named a 32-man squad that is at virtually full strength with only two injury casualties and 14 based outside Germany. Two players will be cut ahead of the opening match against Hong Kong.
England-based second row Adam Preocanin and promising winger Zani Dembele are the ones who miss out due to long-term injury. Three others are also currently injured but are expected to be fit in time to take part. Hooker Dasch Barber is returning from a broken hand while veteran winger Steffen Liebig suffered a mild strain in the final warm-up against Portugal. Flyhalf Hagen Schulte is in a race against time to make the first match against Hong Kong but should be ready for the Canada game at the latest.
Left out are a pair of Rotherham forwards – hooker Mark Fairhurst and flanker Luis Ball – as well as Wales-based eightman Luke Dyckhoff and Carcassonne winger Maxime Oltmann. The latter is the most surprising after featuring in the June qualifiers against Samoa. Preferred are a pair of South Africans – 20-year-old Nikolai Klewinghaus and long-range goal kicker Marcel Coetzee.
With Preocanin’s bulk absent there is a recall for 36-year-old former captain Michael Poppmeier, his first appearance in a Germany squad this year. There are two uncapped players – South Africa hooker Kurt Haupt has both English Premiership and Super Rugby experience, the other is England-based openside flanker John Dawe.
Other notable inclusions are France-based loosehead prop Julius Nostadt, the incumbent captain, and Vannes halfbacks Tim Menzel and Christopher Hilsenbeck. La Rochelle lock Eric Marks has already skippered the side at the age of 22, and new Houston SaberCats signing Ayron Schramm is a starting contender at No8. Earning a recall in the backs is Dijon fullback Harris Aounallah, an accomplished kicker and counter-attacker.
In addition to naming the squad the team has also announced that they have officially adopted a new nickname – ‘Schwarze Adler’, or ‘Black Eagles’. The new name is accompanied by a logo of an eagle in flight. It’s unclear whether this new design will replace the old on the jersey, as Chile’s new Cóndores logo has, or will be placed separately. The team will translate the text on the logo into the language of each opponent as a sign of respect.
Germany enter the last-gasp World Cup Qualifying event as the lowest-ranked of the four sides at 29th in the world. They have never before qualified for a Rugby World Cup.
A detailed squad list can be seen here.
FORWARDS
Antony Dickinson (Rotherham Titans, UK), Samy Füchsel (Frankfurt), Julius Nostadt (Aurillac, FR), Matthias Schösser (Aberdeen Grammar, UK), Jörn Schröder (HRK), Dasch Barber (HRK), Kurt Haupt (unattached), Mika Tyumenev (Nice, FR), Eric Marks (La Rochelle, FR), Michael Poppmeier (Frankfurt), Timo Vollenkemper (HRK), John Dawe (Worthing Raiders, UK), Jarrid Els (HRK), Sebastian Ferreira (Chambery, FR), Marcel Henn (Frankfurt), Jaco Otto (Handschuhsheim), Ayron Schramm (Houston SaberCats, US)
BACKS
Sean Armstrong (HRK), Tim Menzel (Vannes, FR), Oliver Paine (Neuenheim), Christopher Hilsenback (Vannes, FR), Hagen Schulte (CSM Bucuresti, RO), Wynston Cameron-Dow (Offenbach), Mathieu Ducau (Lannemezan, FR), Jamie Murphy (Bridgend Ravens, UK), Raynor Parkinson (Frankfurt), Carlos Soteras-Merz (Pforzheim), Marcel Coetzee (Handschuhsheim), Nikola Klewinghaus (Handschuhsheim), Steffen Liebig (HRK), Harris Aounallah (Dijon, FR), Tim Biniak (Heusenstamm)
