Action from the Malta-Croatia match at the Hibs Stadium.

A tough test awaits the national team this afternoon as Malta play promotion favourites the Czech Republic in a FIRA-AER Division 2A qualifier in Prague (kick-off: 2pm).

Last week, Damian Neill’s men got their campaign off to a positive start when, inspired by an almost flawless kicking percentage from James O’Brien and two tries from Vince Stivala, they saw off Croatia 31-26 at the Hibs Stadium.

The win saw Malta, ranked 40th in the world, go second in the group on four points, one adrift of joint-leaders Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Neill indicated last month that the match in Prague will be his team’s most difficult fixture in this division. His words may prove to be accurate also based on the Czech Republic’s remarkable opening on November 1.

Marek Loutocky, who is on the books of St Etienne, scored three second-half tries to push the Czechs to a come-from-behind 27-14 win against Switzerland away in Nyon.

Loutocky is one of nine players in the squad who play professional rugby in France and that speaks volumes of the quality that exists in Tomas Putra’s squad.

Neill knows the task ahead of him and this week warned his players that they cannot afford any lapses of concentration as they risk severe punishment from the Czechs who are ranked 36th in the international rankings.

“We have a real battle on our hands,” Neill said.

“The Czech Republic are the strongest team in our group. They have so many professionals and most of them play in the top league in France. They are a formidable side with a powerful scrum and a very skilful forward line.

“We have to produce our best game and try to keep them away from our try line as possible. We have to be versatile and pose some problems to their backline. Moreover, a high level of concentration is necessary and we need to stick to our gameplan and avoid mistakes.”

Neill is boosted by the availability of Rob Holloway who skipped the match against Croatia but Marvin Cordle did not make the trip to eastern Europe.

Against Croatia, Malta created various good chances to go over the tryline but they left Corradino with only three to their credit.

Neill again stressed the team cannot afford such luxury against the Czechs.

“Our performance against Croatia was satisfactory in general but it was frustrating to see so many try chances thrown away cheaply,” he lamented.

“You cannot let those chances slip away so we must make the most of the opportunities we create even against a very solid team like Czech Republic. I know we can play positive rugby and hopefully that will help us to a good result in Prague.”

The squad
K. Mason, D. Holliday, R. Apsee, C. Cassar, C. Schranz, D. Deguara, D. Apsee, L. Watts, T. Holloway, R. Holloway, J. Morris, V. Stivala, D. Busuttil, T. Quarendon, J. Kirk, J. O’Brien, D. Cerketa, J. Ellul, T. Davey, J. Cutajar, C. Briffa, R. Borg, M. Galea.

Results: Israel vs Switzerland 18-29; Switzerland vs Czech Rep. 14-27; Malta vs Croatia 31-26.

Playing today: 14.00 Czech Republic vs Malta; Croatia vs Israel.

Standings: Czech Rep. (1-0-0) 5; Switzerland (1-0-1) 5; Malta (1-0-0) 4; Croatia (0-0-1) 2; Israel (0-0-1) 0.