Rugby League World Cup: Greece's incredible journey to World Cup debut

Jordan Meads (seated connected floor, centre) joined the different 15 captains astatine the Rugby League World Cup motorboat successful Manchester connected 10 October

They played matches astatine midnight and successful concealed successful the Athens mountains to debar detection by constabulary - Greece's travel to their archetypal Rugby League World Cup was thing but straightforward.

Before then, the squad had been banned from playing matches connected location ungraded for respective years.

"One time they'll astir apt constitute a publication astir us," says skipper Jordan Meads.

"It's been 1 heck of a journey, but we wouldn't person it immoderate different way, and we instrumentality our hats disconnected to different emerging nations that had to articulation america connected that journey.

"We're a fewer months down the way of having rugby league arsenic a ineligible entity wrong the state and, for us, we're keen to shed that unfortunate mentality and spot rugby league make successful a state that we cognize volition respond truly good to a athletics similar this."

• Dave Woods: Why the World Cup is "unmissable"
• All 61 games unrecorded connected BBC: Full TV schedule

Head manager Steve Georgallis has been astatine the forefront of the travel since Greece's archetypal lucifer successful 2003.

Helping to turn rugby league successful the state of his practice has been motivated by wanting to springiness thing backmost to his family; notably his father, who emigrated from Greece to Australia successful the 1950s.

He confessed that helium volition beryllium "quite emotional" erstwhile Greece locomotion retired successful Doncaster connected Monday to marque their World Cup debut against France.

Steve Georgallis (right) has held coaching positions with respective NRL clubs successful Australia

What happened?

In our conversation, Georgallis joked that it would instrumentality 3 weeks to archer the afloat story.

In 2016, the Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) voted to suspend the Hellenic Federation of Rugby League for "wilfully acting successful a mode prejudicial to the interests of the wide governing assemblage and planetary rugby league". It was aboriginal expelled.

The breakaway Greek Rugby League Association (GRLA, present the GRLF) was granted affiliate subordinate presumption by the governing assemblage of European rugby league aboriginal successful 2018, allowing Greece to effort to suffice for the World Cup.

Crucially though, the Hellenic Modern Pentathlon Federation was legally recognised arsenic the controlling assemblage of rugby league successful Greece, not the GRLA.

Any rugby league played connected Greek ungraded nether the GRLA banner, by home clubs oregon the RLEF-endorsed nationalist team, was forbidden. There were adjacent occasions erstwhile constabulary arrived to halt matches.

Playing successful secret

Greece (in bluish and white) played a "home" World Cup qualifier against Scotland successful London successful November 2019

Against this astir antithetic of backdrops, Georgallis and his players were trying to scope the World Cup.

One of the strangest moments came successful 2018 erstwhile Malta arrived successful Greece for a qualifier. Neither squad knew wherever it would instrumentality place, portion a Greek squad authoritative posted a representation connected societal media from an alternate venue to effort to propulsion constabulary disconnected the scent.

New Zealand-born Meads, whose parent is Greek, said: "That was our 1 and lone qualification crippled successful Athens, and I deliberation due to the fact that of the rigmarole of the events that took place, we moved each of our 'home' games to London.

"I tin vividly retrieve getting up and we had perfectly nary thought wherever we were going to play.

"They virtually said 'get connected the bus, we're going to instrumentality you determination and you're going to play 80 minutes of football, and hopefully get 1 measurement person to qualifying for a World Cup'.

"An hr and a fractional later, we arrived astatine this astonishing tract successful the mediate of the Athens mountains somewhere, acold distant from each prying eyes.

"We managed to enactment successful a truly bully show that time due to the fact that we knew what it meant to play rugby league connected our location soil."

Greece progressed to the last qualifying signifier and though they were beaten by Scotland successful a lucifer staged astatine the New River Stadium, London, a thrashing of Serbia successful Belgrade confirmed their World Cup spot.

The 'relief' of recognition

However Greece execute astatine the World Cup, they volition permission England knowing that the aboriginal of rugby league astatine location should beryllium a overmuch brighter one.

More teams astatine grassroots level, promotion for grooming sessions and matches, fiscal enactment and integration into schools are each anticipated pursuing authorities designation of the GRLF.

With the parameters for becoming an autarkic federation met, including the request for astatine slightest 20 home clubs to beryllium registered, Georgallis had a elemental emotion erstwhile confirmation came through.

"Relief. So overmuch relief," helium said.

"It was conscionable a alleviation to deliberation 'wow', we've yet achieved what we wanted to achieve. To get present - and beryllium successful the World Cup - it's conscionable amazing."

Lachlan Ilias, a regular starter for South Sydney Rabbitohs during the 2022 NRL season, is the header inclusion successful Greece's 24-man squad

Greece person drawn connected players from acold and wide for their World Cup debut.

South Sydney Rabbitohs half-back Lachlan Ilias is the prima attraction successful their 24-man squad and, on with a fewer others based with NRL clubs, helium volition diagnostic alongside players from the little grades successful Australia, England's second-tier Championship and respective players from Greece's home competition.

Greece, who volition play England, Samoa and archetypal opponents France successful Group A, are thing betwixt 500-1 and 2,500-1 outsiders to triumph the World Cup.

Asked astir expectations for the tournament, Georgallis answered: "To beryllium competitive.

"It's going to beryllium pugnacious but I deliberation the warring tone we've shown for the past 10 to 15 years to effort to get rugby league successful Greece, you'll spot it successful our games.

"If we're competitive, you ne'er know. Funnier things person happened. The Greek shot squad won the European Championship successful 2004 truthful who knows?"