Stefanos Bastas
Stefanos Bastas (Greek: Στέφανος Μπάστας) is a Greek semi-professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for Villeghailhenc-Aragon in Elite Two Championship. He began playing rugby league at the age of 18 in Greece with the Rhodes Knights. As of 2019, he is the most capped player for the Greek National Rugby League Team.[3]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 22 December 1993 Karystos, Greece | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 107 kg (16 st 12 lb; 236 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 26 November 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
He was selected to represent the Greece national team in 2014 and was part of the squad that played in the European Championship Group C and also in the Balkans Cup.
In October 2017, at age 23, Bastas was named as captain of the national team ahead of the 2017 Balkans Cup. Upon returning from Serbia, Bastas moved to England in search of a professional contract. He attended trials and training sessions with the Hemel Stags, where he was successful and signed a one-year contract for the 2018 season.[4] He was the first ever Greek rugby league player to secure a professional contract.
In 2019, following a series of trial games, Stefanos signed for Doncaster.[5] He then scored his first ever try in Doncaster's 46-6 Challenge Cup win over Featherstone Lions.[6]
Bastas was released by Doncaster at the end of the 2019 season. He joined Villeghailhenc-Aragon XIII in the Elite Two Championship on October 20th 2019.
He was also part of Greece's 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifying campaign, in which they qualified for their first Rugby League World Cup.
References
- "Stefanos Bastas". Rugby League Project.
- "Villegailhenc-Aragon-RL-XIII". Trieze Mondial.
- "Greece - Players - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
- Gordon, James (2017-12-15). "Greece international gets Hemel chance". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- "Dons sign Stefanos Bastas". 2019-03-28.
- "Report: Featherstone Lions 6 Doncaster 46". 2019-03-31.