Victory vital says national coach Neill

Victory is vital for the rugby national team today as Malta host Latvia at the Hibs Stadium for the country’s first showing at home in this FIRA/AER Division 2A campaign (start: 2 p.m.).

This will be Malta’s second outing in the group following the 6-9 defeat to Lithuania away.

The build-up to today’s Euro qualifier has been anything but plainsailing as national coach Damian Neill had to deal with a worrying list of injuries as a result of a gruelling match in eastern Europe last Saturday.

Neill is still hopeful of recovering some of his experienced players but with Oliver Sacco still unavailable and Mario Fountain, Tom Holloway and Daryl Psaila all receiving treatment, Malta could face some problems at the back.

Neill, however, is refusing to give overdue importance to his injury worries and has focused all his energy in making sure the team bag their first win and move away from the bottom position in the standings.

“True, we’ve had a big head-ache with injuries this week but that has not diminished our determination to get our campaign going by beating Latvia,” the Welshman said.

“Results so far indicate that this competition will be much tougher than previous years. Sweden have already shown what a strong team they are and last week Latvia were only beaten by Croatia in the last minutes of the match. This will be a real battle for most teams to retain same status this season.

“For me, as always, the important thing is the team to perform to their maximum of ability.

“In Lithuania, we have shown that we, too, can be a strong force in this group. So, I am confident that against Latvia we can leave our mark with a vital win.”

For Malta, this will be a second clash against Latvia this year.

In April, Neill’s men were in a class of their own as they brushed aside the former Russian republic 27-10 at the Hibs Stadium.

Attacking rugby has always been one of the strengths of the Maltese team and scoring more than three tries could yield added benefits with the introduction of a bonus points system in this year’s competition.

“Gaining extra points will be a huge incentive for all teams and against Latvia we have to go all out to score as many tries as possible,” Neill said.

“Also, playing in front of our own fans has always been a great lift for the players.”

Playing today: Malta vs Latvia; Sweden vs Lithuania.

Standings: Sweden 5; Lithuania, Croatia 4, Latvia, Malta 1.

Results so far: Croatia vs Sweden 13-32; Lithuania vs Malta 9-6; Latvia vs Croatia 12-14.