Johny Nake fulfilled his World Cup dream in 2022. Now the Greece international is helping nurture a new generation of players determined to build a future for rugby league in the country. 

BACK IN 2022 Greece was rugby league’s Cinderella story. The unlikely 2021 World Cup participant had endured unimaginable struggles just to play a match after the sport was banned in the country, the result of an arduous domestic power battle.

Suddenly the national team was a guest at the grown-ups’ party, based in Sheffield with a new Greek Government’s stamp of approval and no less than eight domestic players in the squad. They went on to play France, Samoa and England, with the scorelines reflecting an opposition stacked with full-time professionals, although they did give France a run for their money for a time.

One of those domestic players was Johny Nake, from Neos Kosmos in Athens. The diminutive utility got to run onto the Bramall Lane pitch against England in his national colours in front of 19,000 people and tackle his hero George Burgess. It was a huge moment for the man who discovered rugby league at the age of 23 when he was looking for a sport to help deal with asthma.

Now at 36, Nake is mentoring a new group of young players who will enjoy similar experiences if everything goes to plan.

There are two very good reasons for a developing rugby league country to encourage youth participation and development. The first is pretty obvious. If you don’t have youth engaging with the sport it will be difficult to sustain a competition over a long period and it will most likely die. The second is more strategic. Full membership of the International Rugby League, which in turn gives access to increased funding and participation in World Cup qualifiers, requires a nation to provide evidence of junior development including a junior domestic (under-15 to under-19) competition.

“The former president of the Greek Rugby League Federation, George Stilianos, was instrumental in the early stages of getting young players to our club, Panionios (formerly Attica Rhinos),” Nake explained to Rugby League World.

“George brought our first ’young gun’, 13-year-old Vasilis Tzitzivacos. Vasilis brought out a caring vibe in our players. They were really protective around him. After a few weeks a couple of young players with a New Zealand background, Teo Tipene and Kostas Drivas, followed. Next in line was Angelo Macovei. He was found by one of our team-mates lifting all the weights at the gym at the age of 17. Vasilis’ good friend Timur Agostini, a talented French-American guy, joined and then more players followed, mostly friends of Vasilis and Timur. It doesn’t get any better than enjoying the sport you love with your friends as team-mates.”

Nake is well aware of the importance of creating a youth pipeline for the sport in Greece and is fully committed to his responsibility as a coach and senior player in developing newcomers.

“Youth players are vital to the future of rugby league in Greece. They are the next generation of players, coaches, referees and supporters who will keep the sport growing. By developing young talent today, the Greek Rugby League Championship can ensure stronger clubs, stronger players in the competition and a sustainable future for rugby league in Greece.

“Coaching is about much more than teaching rugby skills. As coaches and senior players we have a responsibility to help young people develop as individuals. If we can help them become better athletes, better team-mates and better people then we have done our job well.”

Greece, along with Norway, will contest the 2026 European Under-19s Championship for the first time at the Font Romeu high-performance facility in the Pyrenees, France.

Experienced Greek Australian coach Jim Pizanias will take a 22-player Greece squad to France, preceded by a one-week camp in Athens. Fresh from guiding NSW Universities to victory over QLD Universities, he is well aware of the importance of domestic player recruitment and development.

“If we can get into junior schools, high schools and universities (in Greece), that’s where players are going to eventually come from,” Pizanias said.

“We’re not going to have a competition in 10 to 15 years’ time if we don’t get to our juniors. It’s probably the most important part of our puzzle to date. We’ve always had heritage players and our players are ageing now, so we need these kids to come through to be playing games, especially the local Greek boys.

“We’ll have three or four sessions in camp in Athens, which will be good, we’ll get them all together, and we’ll just see how it goes. Just keeping it nice and simple. The hardest bit is playing three games in seven days, especially for the domestic Greek boys, who might only play one game every couple of months.

“We had a training session in Australia and I said these boys are going to look up to you as players, so you need to give them as much as you can. All of them will be like coaches there, grabbing one under their wing in the same position and trying to show them as much as they can. On the other side, many of the heritage boys have never been overseas before, so they can learn things from the local boys about the culture and so on.”

With five of the domestic players going to France from Nake’s Panionios club, Johny is hoping this tournament will be the beginning of a fruitful journey for his young and talented group of players.

“Representing Greece and experiencing a Rugby League World Cup is something I will always cherish. To see these young players earn the same opportunities would be incredibly rewarding because it would show that all the hard work being done is paying off. More importantly, it would mean that rugby league in Greece continues to grow and that the next generation is achieving things that perhaps they once thought were impossible. Seeing them wear the Greek jersey and create their own memories would be a proud moment for everyone involved.”

The European Under-19s Championship, commencing on Sunday, 12th July, will be contested by England, France, Scotland, Serbia, Ukraine and Wales, while Canada, Greece, Ireland and Norway will battle for the European Shield, with the winner guaranteed promotion in 2028.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 522 (July 2026)