From a blade of grass, as Hannover 78’s Phil Szczesny said, the German sevens selection averted a defeat against the USA in a game for fifth place at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. In the Golden Score, the team called the “Wolfpack” defeated the Americans 24:19, the best result of a German selection in the World Series. In Canada, the “Wolfpack” was invited as the invitation team. “It was wonderful and very impressive,” Szczesny said.
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Germany finished the first tournament in Vancouver in ninth place. This was clearly improved in Edmonton. “Another great day for German rugby,” said national coach Damien McGrath.
After a 17:19 loss in stoppage time against Ireland, 19:10 against Great Britain saw their first victory over a major opponent, followed by a 55:5 win against Jamaica. Niklas Koch from the Germania list made the first of his three attempts at this game. This was the first entry in the quarter-finals in a World Series tournament.
Against Kenya, “Wolfpack” fought back after a deficit of 7:24, with Szczeciny trying to make it 17:24, but nothing more than that was possible. For the 29-year-old sports soldier, it was one of six successful breakthroughs in Edmonton, the next two he made in the placement round 21:7 over Hong Kong.
Video evidence for each Germany
Against the United States, the coach ensured balance, the 23-year-old from the Police Sports Promotion Group diving into the penalty area with a daring action – video evidence confirmed the significant effort. Szczesny equalized at 19:19. Immediately after the final siren – in rugby seven, a game does not end until the next interruption – the Americans then abandoned the effort. Again, the video evidence ruled – the ball had not hit the ground. This attempt was thwarted by Chris Umeh of Berlin and immediately made a decisive attempt for Germany. The joy was great.
Bastian van der Bosch (formerly Himmer) no longer existed in Edmonton. He had traveled home to help his wife in the upcoming birth of her daughter.
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