Mike Ford will lead the Germans as they play Hong Kong in a repechage game on the 11th November 2018 in Marseille, France. This is the closest that the Germany National side has ever come to Rugby World Cup qualification in history. Ford will be looking to write history if they successfully make it to the tournament in Japan. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Dragons will be looking for victory in the opening game against a lowly ranked German Side in this round-robin competition as they aim to secure the final spot in the Rugby WC that will be held in Japan next year. Here’s the Hong Kong v Germany Rugby 2019 World Cup Qualifier Game Preview and Score Prediction.

Germany v Hong Kong Rugby WC Qualifier Schedule, live stream Kickoff Time

Ford, with his side comprising of partial players, this will be a chance to realign their mindsets and improve the overall attitude towards the Rugby game in Germany. Let’s have a look at the schedule and kickoff time of the game

  • What: Hong Kong v Germany Rugby 2019 World Cup Qualifier
  • When: Sunday, 11th of November 2018
  • Where: Stade Delort, Marseille
  • Kickoff: 15:00 GMT
  • Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

Germany Rugby 2015 World Cup Qualifiers

In their previous qualification campaign, the Germans fell short of making it to the intercontinental repechage tournament after losing to Russia in the final game. They memoirs of that game are deeply inscribed in their minds after coming so close but crumbling a few meters from home. With only three minutes to go, the Germans were ahead by 20 points to 17. But it was never meant to be as they lost concentration and conceded two tries in quick succession. They lost the game 20-31 and with it, their hopes of making it to the WC in England were terminated.

Last WC Qualifiers of Hong Kong Rugby

In the previous WC qualification campaign, Hong Kong missed the automatic slot and had to go through the Repechage. They played against Uruguay in their final game and they performed pretty well in the opening half. By half-time, they trailed only by 6 points to 3. However, they masterminded their own downfall in the second period by receiving a lot of yellow cards and they ended up losing by 28-3. As a result, they failed to qualify for the main stage.

Both Sides Key Players To Watch

Key players for Hong Kong v Germany Rugby 2019 World Cup Qualifier areas follows.

  • Hong Kong: Leigh Jones will be counting on Jack Parfitt and Tyler Spitz to inspire his side to a very important win over the Germans. The prop and center duo will be the players to watch when these two sides meet on the 11th in Marseille.
  • Germany: Germany Rugby will be banking on its most experienced players to lead their charge towards Japan. They include Prop Samy Fuchsel, Scrum-halves Sean Armstrong and Tim Menzel, and center Raynor Parkinson.

Player Replacements for Hong Kong v Germany Rugby 2019 World Cup Qualifier

  • Germany: Mike Ford won’t be able to call on Steffen Liebig and Dash Barber who are out due to injuries. However, he could see the return of a number of players that missed the pre-repechage warm-up against Portugal into the fray. They include Tim Menzel, Timo Vollenkemper, Julius Nostadt, Jarris Eld, Carlos Soteraz Merz, and Chris Hilsbenbeck.
  • Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Rugby Squad has seen a good number of new faces as they prepare to mount a challenge for the 20th and final slot in the WC group stages. They include Mitch Andrews, Grant Kemp, Craig Lodge, Bryn Phillips, Ben Axten-Burrett, and Casey Stone.

Hong Kong v Germany Rugby 2019 World Cup Qualifier Game Score Prediction

These two sides have only met once in history with Germany winning that fixture 24-14. In that game, the Germans started a stronger foot which saw them lead 16-0 at halftime. They scored tries via D Davies, Pipa and Sim while K Davies scored three penalties for the Germany national side. On the other hand, Penalty Try scored one try and created another for the Hong Kong side which was duly converted for the maximum 14 points. Despite being the lowest ranked among the two teams, Germany comes into this game as favorites and they will most probably win this one.

Prediction: Germany 28-24 Hong Kong

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