OFFENBACH, GERMANY - MARCH 04: Players of Germany celebrate after the Rugby Europe Championship match between Germany and Belgium at Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion on March 4, 2017 in Offenbach, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
4. During WWII, German rugby lost a virtual First XV of players and was never able to recover its previous international footing.
5. Germany have flitted between the first and second divisions of the European Nations Cup. This year they failed to win a game, with a points differential of minus-325 across five games, but they were unable to field players from their strongest club team, Heidelberg.
6. Despite the disastrous campaign, Germany were thrown a World Cup lifeline, when Romania, Belgium and Spain were all deducted points for playing ineligible players. That elevated Germany into a home playoff against Portugal, which they won 16-13 to advance to the next stage – the series against Manu Samoa.