Billy Magoulias will be a big miss for Greece as they go into their World Cup match with England. -AAP Image
Greece will be without experienced forward Billy Magoulias for the World Cup clash with England as he's flying back to Australia to be with his partner during the birth of their first child.
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The loss of Magoulias, the former Cronulla Sharks forward who's most recently been playing for Warrington in this year's Super League, is a blow for the Greeks.
But it's offset by the return of their New Zealand-born captain Jordan Meads, who missed his team's 72-4 defeat by Samoa last Sunday through illness.
Coach Steve Georgallis has named four Greek domestic players in his 19-man squad for Saturday's final group match, with three of them - Ioannis Rousoglou (Aris Eagles), Ioannis (Johny) Nake and Konstantinos Katsidonis - set to make World Cup debuts.
"I flagged before the tournament how important our domestic players are and the role they played in getting us here through the qualification process," Georgallis said.
"Losing Billy is a blow, but we have Jordan back and the players have responded well to every challenge they have been set.
"We understand the enormity of the task against England however we won't be shying away from our jobs or taking a backward step."
