England will be looking to end the Rugby League World Cup group stages with a 100% record when they face Greece on Saturday at Bramall Lane in Sheffield. Here is a closer look at Saturday’s match.
Shaun Wane has made changes to the side which beat France last weekend. Captain, Sam Tomkins, has been rested for the trip to South Yorkshire. Half-back, George Williams will captain the side in his absence.
Kallum Watkins will not feature against Greece. Watkins failed his head injury assessment last week against France; therefore, he is ruled out of the clash.
Michael McIlorum, Herbie Farnworth and Elliott Whitehead are the other three players who miss out on the 19-player squad.
Joe Batchelor and Kai Pearce-Paul are both expected to feature against Greece. The pair are the only players in the squad, who are yet to make an appearance during the World Cup.
England’s top scorer during this World Cup, Dom Young, has been included in the squad. Young has scored four tries in two matches. He has also been named along with fellow wingers Tommy Makinson and Ryan Hall. Makinson scored once against Samoa, meanwhile Hall scored an early brace against France.
Forwards, Victor Radley and Luke Thompson both scored last Saturday during the 42-18 success over France.
A win on Saturday will guarantee that England will finish top of Group A. It has already been decided that England are in the quarter-final and will play that match on Saturday 5th November at the DW Stadium in Wigan.
Greece will have a tough ask on Saturday, however they have received praise throughout the tournament.
They opened up their competition with a match against France in Doncaster, with many expecting an easy match for the French. However, Greece gave a strong account of themselves, even scoring two tries. Despite trailing 20-0 at half-time, Greece only lost the second half 14-12 and threatened France on numerous occasions.
Their second match was a more difficult task as they faced a Samoan side, who had been convincingly beaten 60-6 by England in the opening fixture of the World Cup.
Greece struggled, but a great team try was finished off by half-back Lachlan Ilias.
So far in this World Cup, Greece have shown that they are unconventional and do like to kick earlier in the tackle count with chips over the top. So, they will need to be watched closely, as they have shown their ability to produce moments of magic.
The match kicks off at 2:30pm, with live coverage on BBC One from 1:45pm.
England 19-Player Squad:
George Williams (Captain), Tommy Makinson, Ryan Hall, Jack Welsby, Tom Burgess, Luke Thompson, John Bateman, Victor Radley, Dom Young, Morgan Knowles, Matty Lees, Mike Cooper, Chris Hill, Andy Ackers, Mike McMeeken, Marc Sneyd, Joe Batchelor, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kai Pearce-Paul
Greece 19-Player Squad:
Siteni Taukamo, Terry Constantinou, Nick Mougios, Johnny Mitsias, Lachlan Ilias, Jordan Meads, Robert Tuliatu, Peter Mamouzelos, Stefanos Bastos, Mitchell Zampetides, Nick Flocas, Jake Kambos, Sebastian Sell, Theodoros Niniakas, Liam Sue-Tin, Ioannis Nake, Konstantinos Katsidonis, Ioannis Rousoglou, Adam Vrahnos
