Brian Dalton, the new president of the Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU), takes over the reins with an important FIRA European Nations Cup Division 2A match against Croatia looming on the horizon on November 9 at Hibs Ground.
Dalton was voted into his new role earlier this month at the MRFU’s Annual General Meeting having served as Martin Galea’s vice-president.
He described his election as MRFU president as “the icing on the cake” of his rugby career, having been a player and club president before being handed Malta’s top rugby job.
Although he would rather still be out on the pitch, Dalton is eager to put his passion for the game into maintaining the sterling development work undertaken by Galea over the past few years.
“I’m very happy Martin (Galea) has remained part of our core council as our new treasurer,” Dalton said in a MRFU statement.
“He is the main link to what Malta Rugby has become as his efforts and those of our technical director Damian Neill have put rugby on the national sports map.
“My job is to continue to build on that success.”
Dalton had been responsible for signing the ground-breaking agreement between Malta Rugby and the government guaranteeing a home at Marsa for the local clubs for the next 25 years together with an allocation of land which may be developed in the future into a national rugby union stadium.
“It would be nice if we can play Croatia in our own national rugby stadium on November 9, that’s one of the things I will be looking into during my term as president,” Dalton said.
“We need to have a permanent home for our national team and coaching set-up if we want to achieve our vision of entering the world’s top 30 rugby nations.”
Earlier this year, Malta were ranked at an all-time high of 39th in the world but two very difficult games have seen the team slip a few places in the world rankings.
Malta’s rugby players have been taking the sport to a new level over the last few years but the national squad are yet to start their season and must play the crucial match against Croatia with only a few warm-up games under their belt.
This puts the home team in a position where national coach Neill and his team will have to pull out all the stops to prepare the squad in camps.
“This will be Malta’s first outing this season in Division 2A and we have great belief in our ability to compete well in the next game but we also know that Croatia will be a handful,” Dalton said.
“This is ‘the big game’ in our calendar this year but we will have our fans behind us, and I hope that our new ticket structure will bring hundreds of new fans to see the game.”
Dalton is currently working on bringing a more secure financial sub-structure to MRFU. He is working closely with his predecessor to ensure that international rugby competition and funding of the national team is sustainable, while increasing the education pathways and opportunities for local coaches and players across the Union.
“We have just launched our first phase of education initiatives this year, all of them IRB accredited, and these include IRB Rugby Ready, the IRB Foundation Module, as well as the IRB Level 1,” Dalton said.
“It’s a return to basics and we want to make sure that every player and coach is on the same page so that we have a structure in Malta that is centred on the national team.
“We want to develop the skills of our local players that give them an understanding when they enter the national framework. This takes time and money, and while we are grateful to all our sponsors and donors, we will be re-doubling our efforts to secure more funding for the sport.
“When I walk out on to the pitch on November 9 to shake the opposition’s hands, I want to know that we have everything in place that will give Malta every possible chance, with the strongest selection of players on home soil this year.”
For further information visit www.maltarugby.com.