Chris Fiotakis, one of Greece's most experienced players, has been named as captain for Saturday's FIRA Group 3C tie against Israel at the Zirinio Stadium, Athens (kick-off 2pm).

The 27-year-old, who has scored five tries in Greece's previous nine internationals, currently plays for Nice-Cote D'Azur in the French second divison, something that prompted national coach Nikos Petropoulos to give him the armband.

"Chris has proved himself an automatic choice for Greece over the last three years. He is now a player of proven ability," says Petropoulos.

"He also takes his rugby really seriously. He left Greece to play professionally in England and is now in France. His dedication on the training field and his focus on strategy make him a good guy to have leading the side."

Fiotakis, a former member of the national tack and field squad, only took up the game in 2005 when the Greek Rugby Federation came into existence.

He helped Athens RFC to their first two championships before leaving Greece to play first in England and now in France.

He made his international debut in Greece's first ever international against Austria in Vienna in October 2005 and is one of a small handfull of players who has played every game since.

"I am very proud to have been given this honour," Fiotakis told sportingreece.com.

"I hope I can do the jersey justice and help Greece to an important win against Israel. If we keep out game simple and we play at pace and not give away too many penalties, then I believe we can win. But it will be a tough game for sure.

"There is a different feeling in the team now than there was back in 2005. Then, there were just a couple of guys who knew about rugby and understood what was going on. The rest of us were just learners.

"Now, everyone in the squad knows what the game is about. We can still learn but we are not beginners any more.
"This group of players has been together for a while now. We believe in the team, in each other, in the coach and in the flag. And we are trying to reach new levels.

"That means people are now beginning to have expectations when they come to see us. They expect us to play well, they expect us to win. That didn't exist a couple of years ago.

"It makes for a bit more pressure - but it is the best kind of player that us as players could ask for."