Ex-Junior Springbok lands first international head coach role

The former South Africa U21 player and Germany international replaces the long-serving Mark Kuhlmann, who stepped down in April after seven years in charge.

Poppmeier inherits a team in transition after Germany were relegated from the Rugby Europe Championship to the Trophy in March following an underwhelming campaign that ended with a 76-7 defeat to The Netherlands.

For a nation that came within touching distance of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, it marks a dramatic fall.

Germany were only one match away from qualification after Spain were ruled ineligible, with former England coach Mike Ford leading the side and Poppmeier captaining the team.

They lost 29-10 to Canada in Marseille, marking the closest they have been to playing at the biggest stage in international rugby.

Canada ended up in a group with the Springboks and All Blacks at the tournament, offering a glimpse of what could have been.

Since then, the withdrawal of financial backing from billionaire Stade Francais owner Hans-Peter Wild has left German rugby struggling to maintain momentum.

Now, the responsibility for rebuilding falls to Poppmeier, a figure with deep ties to both South Africa and Germany.

Although born in South Africa, the 43-year-old has long felt connected to Germany through family and culture.

His mother was born in Germany and his father just across the border in Austria and he has lived in Germany for the past 11 years.

He grew up attending a German kindergarten in South Africa, speaking German at home, watching German television and embracing German traditions and food from a young age.

Poppmeier was involved in Jake White’s highly regarded Junior Bok setup alongside countless future Springboks including Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Gurthrö Steenkamp.

"I made it to the final 50 squad of SA U-21s and that got cut down before the competition started and that's where I fell out, and that's where Germany Rugby found out that I had a German passport."

When he was first called up to the national team, he thought his teammates were playing a prank on him.

"When we played Currie Cup, you used to phone from reception and play a joke that you were an agent and ask them to come down, say that you watched the game yesterday and wanted to talk to them about a contract and play a joke on them.

"I honestly thought this was some kind of joke so I hung up the phone because I didn't know Germany played rugby."

After his playing career, Poppmeier steadily built coaching experience in Germany with Heidelberger RK, RSV Koln and Frankfurt, while also working with Tel Aviv Heat in the Rugby Europe Super Cup. More recently, he served as Kuhlmann’s assistant with the national team.

His long-term approach to coaching has been shaped by developing players across all age groups.

"I said to myself, I want to start with U-8s and every year progress to a different age group just to learn the mentalities of different age groups.

"When you start getting to U-14s, U-16s there's a massive difference between the two age groups. Being involved with men now, because I've had that oversight, when you're coaching men, sometimes you're still dealing with U-8s or U-16s!"

One of Poppmeier’s key priorities will be reconnecting with talented German-qualified players based in France, particularly those in Espoirs academies.

He has looked closely at the progress made by Spain and Portugal in recent years and believes Germany can follow a similar path, but only with players committed to the wider project.

"It's quite difficult to get a hold of your French guys, especially because maybe they don't take German rugby too seriously.

"That's going to be part of my challenge, to try and portray a picture that we are to be taken seriously and we would like to use the players that can play for Germany.

"Saying that, we want to have them consistently, not just for one-off games so they can be part of the journey as well."

Poppmeier also wants Germany to modernise its image and strengthen its connection with supporters, particularly younger fans.

He believes creating memorable experiences around the national side can help grow the game and attract future internationals.

"I took my son to the Stormers game because my mate [Rito Hlungwani] is the forwards coach there, and I got to take him into the changing room after the game against Edinburgh and his eyes were massive, taking pictures with Evan Roos and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

"I think if we can offer that to the youngsters that come and support us, that'll be a small gesture that could have a large effect on our brand."

For now, however, the immediate focus is restoring culture, standards and belief after Germany’s painful relegation.

Poppmeier intends to establish those foundations before implementing a quicker style of rugby built around strong fundamentals and a renewed sense of purpose.

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