Rugby side loses in debut game
Playing its first ever international rugby union match in Vienna on Saturday, Greece suffered a 52-3 defeat against Austria in a one-off match sanctioned by the European Rugby Union, FIRA. Greece was originally scheduled to meet Slovakia, but the encounter was postponed after the national team’s opponent declared it was unprepared. The far more experienced Austrian side, which plays its regular competition four league levels above Greece, led 21-3 at half time. Greece’s sole scoring effort came from scrum-half Giorgos Tsatsaronis, who converted a penalty. «The score didn’t reflect the performance. Greece can be proud of the way the players stuck at the game today,» remarked Greece’s English coach Kevin Green. «It’s our first step in international rugby.» Greece’s encounter against Slovakia has been rescheduled for the new year. The teams are expected to meet twice, home and away. Moreover, team officials are currently making efforts to arrange a preceding game in Athens for the nascent Greek national team.
