The Malta national team kick off another European campaign this afternoon when they play Lithuania in their opening FIRA/AER Division 2A qualifier in Siauliai (kick-off 2.30 p.m.).
For Damien Neill’s men, this will be a third successive qualifying campaign in the third tier of European rugby and the main objective remains that to, at least, maintain the status by the end of competition time in season 2011-12.
However, the task will be far from plainsailing as today Malta face a Lithuania side that last season made rugby enthusiasts stand up and take notice when they set a new record of 18 successive test victories after thrashing Serbia 77-5 in a Division 3A match.
This week, the Malta squad was in Gloucester for the now traditional pre-season training camp before flying out to eastern Europe.
Neill is under no illusions of the difficult task awaiting his team this afternoon.
“It’s going to be a very difficult match as in the last few months Lithuania have shown that they are a developing force in this sport,” Neill said.
“We are going into this match with an almost new group of players. Compared to last season, we have no fewer than 11 new faces.
“The positive aspect is that the bulk in the squad comes from the MRFU league and that is testament of the rapid improvement shown by the local players.
“I’m pleased with the team’s preparations in the UK even though there was a lot of travelling to do to reach destination.”
Lithuania-Malta is only the second tie from the group. Earlier this month, Sweden, who just managed to avoid relegation last season, started their campaign in style when they beat the highly-rated Croatia 32-13 in Split.
Today, the Croats play guests to Latvia who face Malta at the Hibs Stadium a week today.
Neill conceded that this year Malta will have its work cut out given the strong competition in the group.
“The Croatia-Sweden result has shown that we cannot make predictions on the strengths and weaknesses of other teams,” the Welshman said.
“This will be a tight group. The most important thing for us is to try and make the most of the chances that come our way and make sure that we preserve our strong home record to secure our place in the group as early as possible.”
Malta squad: K. Mason, H. Collins, A. Livesey, M. Davey, D. Psaila, J. Howland, P. Calgaro, C. Sammut, T. Holloway, R. Holloway, A. Dixon, D. Busuttil (captain), M. Attard, M. Camilleri, J. O’Brien, I. Borda, D. Holliday, N. Gatt, C. Cassar, S. Borg, M. Fountain, J. Pavanello.
Playing today: Lithuania vs Malta; Latvia vs Croatia.
November 6: Malta vs Latvia; Sweden vs Lithuania.