Malta face stern Croatia test

This afternoon, Damien Neill’s national team will be aiming for their first victory in Division 2A of the season when they take on Croatia at the Hibs Stadium (kick-off 2 p.m.).

Malta are still without a win in the group after losing their opening two matches, against Lithuania (6-9) and Latvia (26-33), at the end of last year which left the team rock bottom with three points, one behind Croatia.

With a top-three finish earmarked as the team’s main objective for this campaign, victory today is crucial for the hosts to get their campaign back on track but Neill is under no illusion as to the difficult task awaiting his players.

“We have played Croatia before and actually we know very well what to expect from them,” the Welshman told The Times.

“They rely so much on strength and power so it will be key for our players to avoid scrums and mauls close to the goal-line.

“This is going to be a clash of speed and power and we have to make sure that our movement of the ball is as quick as possible and that we make use of the whole width of the pitch.”

The Maltese are looking to put an end to a negative run of four successive defeats to Croatia with their last win over the Balkan rivals dating back to April 15, 2006 (24-16).

The build-up for today’s match has been anything but plainsailing for Neill as a spate of injuries has hampered his preparations.

Mark Davey is out of the equation after failing to recover from a shoulder injury. The blindside flanker will also miss next week’s qualifier away in Sweden.

Kyle Mason (ankle), Vince Stivala (foot) and Rob Holloway (hip) are facing a race against time to prove their fitness for today’s match.

On a more positive note, the national team is boosted by the return of winger Oliver Sacco, who was unavailable for the opening two qualifiers, while Darren Deguara, of English club Barry RFC, James Kirk (Hull RFC), Dragan Cerketa (Stompers) and Chris Vassallo, of Kavallieri, could all be handed their first appearance after linking up with the squad for the first time.

The squad: O. Sacco, J. Howland, D. Busuttil, C. Sammut, T. Holloway, R. Holloway, A. Livesey, J. O’Brien, D. Holliday, A. Dixon, H. Collins, K. Mason, N. Gatt, C. Cassar, J. Kirk, D. Deguara, M. Camilleri, L. Watts, I. Borda, S. Borg, P. Calgaro, M. Galea, D. Cerketa, V. Stivala, C. Vassallo, J. Zahra, T. Pace Moore.

Results so far: Croatia vs Sweden 13-32; Lithuania vs Malta 9-6; Latvia vs Croatia 12-14; Malta vs Latvia 26-33; Sweden vs Lithuania 26-22.

Playing today: Lithuania vs Latvia; Malta vs Croatia.

Standings: Sweden (2-0-0) 9; Latvia (1-0-1) 6; Lithuania (1-0-1) 5; Croatia (1-0-1) 4; Malta (0-0-2) 3.