MRFU chief calls for strong home support for 'biggest test'

Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU) president Kevin Buttigieg has issued a rallying call to the Maltese public to support the national team for their biggest test in international competition so far when they take on Germany in their opening World Cup third round qualifier tomorrow at the Hibs Ground (kick-off 2 p.m.).

Addressing a news conference at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julians, Mr Buttigieg said that Germany, 27th in the world, are the strongest nation Malta, ranked 55th, has ever played against. It is important, he added, that the players receive the backing of a huge crowd as they bid to topple the group favourites.

"The passionate support of the Maltese people has been an integral part of the successful story of the national rugby team," Mr Buttigieg said.

"Everybody still vividly remembers the electrifying atmosphere our fans created in last May's decider against Denmark.

"The thousands of supporters kept cheering the team on till the end and the players responded by scoring the decisive try in the final seconds to seal their passage to the third qualifying round.

"On Saturday, it's going to be another tough battle for our team," the MRFU chief continued.

"Germany are ranked just outside the top 20 teams who enjoy direct entry to the World Cup. Their high-placing speaks volumes about their strength.

"Nonetheless, our team has managed to defy the odds time and again. I'm sure that the players will rise to the occasion and achieve another remarkable result against Germany."

A win against Germany would put Malta firmly on course to fulfil their lifetime ambition... qualification to the World Cup.

For national coach Damian Neill, the priority is to ensure that his players focus on the tough task ahead.

New backs' coach

Neill has called three new players in his squad namely Guy Kennedy, of Australia's Canberra Vikings, Michael Whitley, who is on the books of London's Ealing and Simon Micallef, who plays for Maltese/Australian rugby league club Malta Knights.

"I'm pleased to see that all the members of the team are in good physical condition," said Neill, who has also enlisted the help of backs coach Barry Maddocks from Wales.

"Our training sessions have gone very well and all the new players settled in without any problems.

"Unfortunately, we do not have much information about our opponents but the most important thing for us is to put in a great performance.

"Germany are very strong and we must play at the level we did against Denmark in May if we are to get a result."

After the Germany match, the national team will play its second qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro in Belgrade tomorrow week. They will complete their Group B commitments next April when they face Croatia at the Hibs Ground and Belgium in Brussels.

Mr Buttigieg went on to expound on the plans of the MRFU to further expand the game in Malta.

"Rugby is growing very fast in Malta but we do not have enough facilities to sustain its rapid growth," he said.

"At present, we are using the rugby pitch at Marsa which is not enough to cater for all our needs.

"We have five clubs with 40 players each, the number of youth nurseries is also on the up and besides there are three women's teams as well. To accommodate everybody we need three pitches.

"We are currently in talks with the government to explore ways how we can solve this problem."

The squad: K. Mason, J. Ramage, I. Borda, T. Webb, H. Collins, L. Watts, D. St George, C. Vassallo, S. Kempster, G. Kennedy, S. Haycock, M. Whitney, J. Dimond, M. Mirabelli, R. Spiteri, D. Busuttil, J. Caruana, T. Watts, S. Micallef, N. Warren, O. Sacco, J. Sultana.