Hellenic Rugby League

After two weeks of wild weather, soggy grounds and lopsided score lines, the 2008 Universities Rugby League World Cup culminated in a blaze of entertainment at Langlands Park.

Sunshine bathed Langlands Park for the final days festivities, with a large crowd of 1200 on hand to cheer on the eight participating nations. Host nations Australia were crowned 2008 World champions thanks to their nail-biting 26-18 victory over England.

But it was Greece that performed above expectations, beating France 14-12 in the Plate final.

The Greeks shot out to a 14-4 lead midway through the second half after tries from Craig Moustakas, Marcus Brandon and Jessy Argeros before French winger Regis Chave gave the World Cup debutants a massive scare by crossing for two tries late in the piece to keep them in the contest.

France led 4-0 after an early try but the Greeks responded with a 22nd minute try from Craig Moustakas after Adam Kambouris put through a kick. A try wide out from Marcus Brandon gave Greece a 10-4 lead at half-time.

For most of the second half, France camped in the Greeks half and have numerous chances to post points but were denied by a courageous tackling performance.

Greece extended the lead to 14-4 in the 66th minute when winger Jessy Argeros collected a cross-field kick from captain Sam Mournehis to score in the corner.

The France replied with a 71st minute try to Regis Chave before Joris Clement scored after the siren after a towering bomb from Benjamin Gerin. But the difficult kick from Gerin just missed its target and Greece held on to win by two points.

It was a magnificent performance by the boys. Our defence won the game for us today, said Greece coach Chris Moulatsiotis.

The Greek squad contained no less than 11 players from overseas where a number of local matches have been staged in Greece. The Greek Rugby League, headed by founer Colin Mylonas, have already staged a number of games in Greece and are planning a domestic competition based in and around the capital of Athens and will include a number of other areas including the island of Rhodes.

The Greek Rugby League would like to thanks everyone that help with the squad including the Brisbane Greek Community who were fantastic throughout the tournament.

Words can not express our gratitude to the support we had in Brisbane. There are so many people we would love to thank but I dont want to leave anyone out, said Moulatsiotis.

Greek prop-forward Adam Kambouris capped off a wonderful game by being named in the University Rugby League World Cup 17.

Two late tries to utility Kristian Hodson saw England scrape away with a hard fought 22-20 victory over a spirited Greece outfit in Round Two of the University Rugby League World Cup in Brisbane.

An 80-metre intercept by Greek centre York Antoniou just after half-time looked to have sealed an upset victory from the tournaments debutant nation, but committed defence and the hard running of Hodson and prop Neil Cherryholme secured England their first competition points.

Greece had the chance to draw the game after David Georgiou scored with two minutes remaining but Antoniou's kick missed its target.

The Greek Rugby League have done a magnificent job in getting players from Greece to come over and feature in the tournament. Five years of hard work from many officials including founder Colin Mylonas, has shown how far the Greek Rugby League has come.

A well rehearsed Australian unit dismantling the spirited Greeks 54-0.

The win came on the back of a star performance from Co-captain Drew Dalton who finished the match with a personal tally of 14 points.

Greece looked dangerous in the opening encounters with prop forward Adam Kambouris breaking the line early to no avail.

Australia then switched themselves on when halfback Brogan Gibson opened the scoring for the Aussies when he crossed under the posts in the 4th minute of the match.

The next 20 minutes of the match were in the balance as Greece showed the spirit which has made them a crowd favourite over the past week, but two late first half tries to Drew Dalton gave the home side an 18-0 lead heading into the break.

The second half started much the way that the first half ended, with inspirational lock Nuku Hifo scoring in the 40th minute.

The next 30 minutes resulted in a steady flow of points with tries to captain Jonathon Crawley, Jason Gangaram, Josh Whitty, Eugene Seddon and Justin Volker.

"Many of the Australian players are playing in high level competitions while many of our players are still learning about the game," said Greek coach Chris Moulatsiotis.

"We had four of our key players out today but the boys still put up a great fight."

Pool A

Standings after round three: Australia 6, England 4, Greece 2, Scotland 0

Pool B

Standings after round three: New Zealand 6, Wales 4, France 2, Ireland 0

Find out all the latest news on the University World Cup by visiting worldcup.aurl.com.au

The Greeks opened their campaign in the University Student Rugby League by shutting out Scotland 14-0 in a hard grinding match played in wet conditions at Griffith University in Brisbane.

The Greek players had only known each other for less than 24 hours but bonded magnificently to produce a superb defensive display to keep the Scots scoreless.

Greece registered their first try after 15 minutes of play when a cut out pass from half-back Tom Giorgas found winger Michael Psarakis sliding over in the corner.

Scotland went close to scoring in the 23rd minute when captain Patrick Coupar lost the ball over the try line.

Two minutes later, a loose ball from the Scots saw Psarakis swoop on the ball and then raced 30 metres, stepping inside the full-back to score. York Antoniou added the extras and then kicked a penalty goal right on half-time to give Greece a 12-0 lead.

The second half was a tight struggle with Scotland having the better of field position. Time after time, they attacked the Greek try line but were held by a courageous and determined defence.

Greece had limited chances to score points in the second stanza but made sure of the win when Antoniou kicked a penalty goal with three minutes remaining.

Greece 14 (Michael Psarakis 2 tries; York Antoniou 2 goals) d.

Scotland 0 at Griffith University, Brisbane.

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• November 2002: Greek Rugby League is founded by Colin Mylonas, a former junior player with Eastern Suburbs and lllawarra.
• Sunday August 31st 2003: Greece play a trial match against New Caledonia and NSW Students Opens. They beat New Caledonia 26 - 10 but sadly loss to NSW Students Opens 34-0.
• Saturday September 27th 2003:Greece play Italy for the Ionio Cup at Oki Jubilee Oval. The Cup was won by the Italians 26-24. Italy won the game in the final 3mins of the game. With a crowd of over 4,000 the future looks bright for Greek Rugby League

All those wishing to participate in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

..please attend the first training session (you do not need to be a student, all players are welcome

7.30pm, Wednesday 4th June, St Johns Oval - Sydney Uni (entrance off Parramatta Rd)

please bring your forms if you have downloaded from corresponding emails

The University Student Rugby League World Cup, is set to take place in Brisbane, 4-19 July 2008

To be eligable to particiapte, you must being studying, at Uni, Tafe and/or a Private Institution

Any players interested in representing Greece at the tournament, please send an email ASAP

The Greek Festival of Sydney is starting on the 29th March, below is the link for details of events they're having, maybe we'll run into each other there, I'll be the one with the camera