Greece has a Rubgy Union League
ATHENS RFC successfully retained the Greek rugby championship when they beat Rhodes 19-0 in a lacklustre final on April 15 in Kifissia.
Both sides lost key players in the opening 15 minutes with Greece prop Costas Tsampaos breaking his arm, an injury which is sure to rule him out of next month's international playoff against Slovakia.
Athens' pressure finally told when Georgian flanker Revas Kiknadze touched down for the opening score of the game midway through the first half.
George Tzatsaronis missed the conversion but was on target when centre Chris Fiotakis, who is tipped to be going to play in England at the end of the season, twice outran the Rhodes defence for two touchdowns behind the posts.
Leading 19-0 at the break, Athens were pegged back in the second half with Rhodes pinning them in their own half for long periods. Rhodes had several try-scoring opportunities, but either knocked on at crucial moments or were held up by spirited Athens defence.
The islanders, playing without their standoff Anesti Karageorgiou, who was red-carded in the semifinal for punching an opponent
, might also rue their decision to try for the seven-pointers whenever they had penalties within kicking distance of the posts.On at least four occasions in the second half they had straightforward chances to kick for goal but turned them down each time. With a possible 12 points under their belt they might have made the last ten minutes extremely uncomfortable for the Athenians.
"We feel great because we really feel we deserved to win the title - even if the game itself did not really come up to expectations," said Athens prop Omiros Fanariotis, who also gave credit to Rhodes for the pressure they applied in the second half.
Last year, Athens won the inaugural championship by default when Rhodes were unable to make the trip to the capital for the final because of bad weather which led to the cancellation of their ferry. This year they flew.
A rugby tournament featuring youngsters and veterans will take place on Saturday 21 April in Glyka Nera. The highlight of the day will be the two games for the new team Quinze de France, a team made up entirely of French players. Events begin at 12 (noon) and there will be a barbecue at the end. More details on www.rugby.gr or call Henri-Marc on 6936822399.
http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.pr...;m=A38&aa=2
Tripped me right out knowing that Greece has a Rubgy comp, and has import players from Georgia playing for them.