The Greek Women’s rugby league team will play their first international tournament at Lidcombe Ovalin in Sydney, Australia this month.
The Greek rugby team will have Australian based players among their squad as they compete against the Philippines in the Sydney International tournament on January 28 for 2023.
This comes after their recent success in the European Championships tournament in 2022, where Greece won the southern section winning both their games in the teams first tournament.
Head coach of the Greek Rugby League Federation, Stuart McLennan, said in a statement about the upcoming tournament, “In 2019 we formed a very inexperienced Greek national team with domestic players and traveled to Turkey where we were beaten 40-4.”
🇬🇷🆚🇵🇭 Our 🇦🇺 Australia-based ladies will do battle against the Philippines next month! 🔥
— Greek Rugby League Federation (@GreekRL) December 21, 2022
5pm Sydney, 8am Greece time.
📺 Live stream links will be posted a few days before the match. pic.twitter.com/WlEpg6F2ef
McLennan said in the statement Greece has a tough mission against the Philippines team as they have already played an international match in Australia against Malta, but the head coach believes the Greek rugby team has a special factor that will drive them in the Sydney tournament.
“Having coached and watched a number of Greek sides, I know there is a special spirit that embraces the players when they pull on the blue and white jersey. I am confident we will put in a good showing,” McLennan said.
“Our aim with playing this match against the Philippines is to take a core group of heritage players to Europe and combine them with our best Greece based players to form a team that will be competitive in the 2025 World Cup qualifying matches to be held later this year,” McLennan explained in the statement.
Greek Rugby League Manager Terry Liberopoulos has been recruiting female rugby league players with a Greece born parent or grandparent who wish to play for their heritage nation.
“We have around 20 players who have responded but there may be some unavailable or unable to play due to injuries. We have five players returning from two years ago when we played in the Sydney 9s tournament. We have a mixture of experience in the squad,” Liberopoulos said in a statement.
Liberopoulos also announced there is still an opportunity for Greek heritage rugby players to qualify who are interested in competing in the Sydney International tournament.
Greece will compete against the Philippines in the Women’s Rugby League International tournament at Lidcombe Oval, Sydney on Saturday 28 January at 5pm.
If you or anyone you know have Greek heritage and want the opportunity to represent Greece, email Greek Rugby League Manager Terry Liberopoulos at terry@rugbyleaguereview.com.
