The Malta A squad have just completed a home and away double over Sicily team Sigonella in their build-up to next month’s international matches against Lithuania and Croatia.
The national select was again assembled by Malta coach Damian Neill to assess all his options before finalising the squad ahead of two matches that could determine the future status of the country in the European Nations Cup Division 2A.
Earlier this year the national team was ranked at an all-time high of 39th in the world although two upsets to the Netherlands and Switzerland saw the side slip a few places.
On November 2, Malta play away to Lithuania before another crucial match against Croatia at the Hibs Ground on November 9 as the second round of the tournament resumes after the summer break.
The Netherlands are top of the standings with a perfect record from four matches. They are followed by Switzerland with three wins and the trio of Croatia, Malta and Lithuania with one win each from four matches.
Neill is determined to climb back up the rankings to what he considers an acceptable platform from which to take Malta into the top 30, his goal over the next five years.
The two games coming up should be the first step towards that objective and Neill, together with his management team of Danny Sacco and Steve Busuttil, knows that the November double header will be a stiff test at this early stage of the season.
“We showed that our skill base is intact in both games against Sigonella and we now know what we need to work on as we prepare for Lithuania and Croatia. These matches will determine our Division 2A prospects. So, the players will need to be razor sharp if we are to compete effectively,” Neill said.
“The home game against Croatia, in particular, should be one of our biggest in recent times.”
The MRFU domestic league is yet to start this season and the national team will play Lithuania and Croatia with only a few warm-up games by Malta A.
The friendlies will be supplemented by training camps for the national squad in the build-up to the Nations Cup matches.
Neill said: “Despite our distance from the rugby strongholds in Europe, the national team has been developing nicely over the last five years. Soccer is so predominant here it is hard to get rugby into the schools.
“That’s where you generate feeder teams for the youth and adult leagues, but we are making some progress in this area and our Under-18 National Select have several games coming up from which we hope to spot possible future players for the senior squad.”
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Division 2A results
Croatia vs Malta 20-19; Malta vs Lithuania 34-17; Malta vs Switzerland 10-19; Netherlands vs Malta 48-10.
Current standings
Netherlands (4-0-0) 18; Switzerland (3-0-1) 14; Croatia (1-0-3) 7; Malta (1-0-3) 5; Lithuania (1-0-3) 4.