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Germany is preparing to play against Portugal amid the ongoing RWC qualifying controversy. An official release from the Deutscher Rugby Verbrand (DRV – German Rugby Federation) notes that the scheduled relegation fixture is approaching despite the chaos from the RWC qualifiers.
Romania’s qualification for RWC 2019 hangs in the balance. Having fielded an ineligible player throughout the RWC qualifying series investigations are taking place to determine what action should occur.
The result is to impact on both Germany and Portugal. Their upcoming match is to determine which tier of the Rugby Europe competition both will play in. Yet with not only Romania but also Belgium having officially fielded ineligible players Belgium may instead be relegated.
Suddenly the decision to have Romanian referees for the Belgium vs Spain game, let alone their performance, is not the center of attention. Russia’s complaint to World Rugby came earlier this week and now the eligibility of some Spanish players are also in question.
The DRV noted on its website that Rugby Europe and World Rugby have come across serious questions over the past few days. These include the above mentioned irregularities surrounding player eligibility of Belgium, Romania and Spain.
The article notes that Belgium indeed fielded a player whose means of qualification is having a Great-Grandparent from Belgium. This is in breach of World Rugby’s Regulation 8 which requires a player qualifying on ancestry to have a Parent or Grant Parent.
The DRV also note that Sione Faka’osilea was also never eligible to play for Romania due to him having played Rugby Sevens for Tonga. It notes that doubts surround the eligibility of some of Spain’s players though both Belgium and Romania will be affected.
Finally the DRV notes that in the worst case scenario of the investigations the results of the season will have to be changed. This, says the DRV, could have a significant impact on the positioning and thus the RWC qualification. Free from investigation are Germany and Russia while Georgia pre-qualified for RWC 2019.
Meanwhile Germany’s test side is preparing for Portugal. Pablo Lemoine and Paul Healy have announced a training roster for German-based players for April 15 to 18 in Heidelberg.
GERMANY
Zinzan Hees (RK Heusenstamm), Kehoma Brenner (Heidelberger RK) Kehoma Brenner, Florian Wehrspann (RG Heidelberg), Manuel Müller (RG Heidelberg), Paul Pfisterer (RG Heidelberg), Carsten Lang (RG Heidelberg), Robert Lehmann (RC Rottweil), Senzo Ngubane (SC Frankfurt 1880), Jens Listmann (SC Frankfurt 1880), Lukas Deichmann (SC Frankfurt 1880), Elias Haase (SC Frankfurt 1880), Marcel Becker (SC Frankfurt 1880), Paul Weiß (SC Neuenheim), Tomas van Gelderen (SC Neuenheim), Marcus Bender (TSV Handschuhsheim), Christopher Korn (TSV Handschuhsheim), Felix Martel (TSV Handschuhsheim), Oliver Paine (TV Pforzheim), Alexander Liddell (TV Pforzheim), Arthur Zeiler (TV Pforzheim), Samuel Harris (TV Pforzheim), Pascal Fischer (Hannover 78), Jan Piosik (Hannover 78), Daniel Koch (SC Germania List), Stefan Mau (SC Germania List), Falk Duwe (RK 03 Berlin).
