The Malta rugby team suffered their first defeat in the FIRA-AER Division 2A after going down 27-13 to the Czech Republic, in Prague yesterday.
As anticipated, the Czechs proved formidable opponents for Malta, scoring four tries to chalk up their second successive victory in the group as they seek to make their stay at this level as short as possible following their relegation last season.
Malta enjoyed long spells of possession but lapses in concentration in key moments of the match proved costly as the Czechs pounced on every opportunity to take the game away from the visitors.
Damian Neill’s men enjoyed a bright start but their momentum was disrupted on 10 minutes when Toby Quarendon was stretchered off injured.
The scores remained level midway through the first half but then Christian Schranz was sin-binned, handing the initiative to the home team who scored two tries to go into the interval 15-0 ahead.
The Czechs scored a third try at the start of the second half with Malta finally getting on the scoresheet with a James O’Brien penalty – 20-3.
That gave the Maltese team more belief as O’Brien ran over the try line for a try – 20-8.
The Czechs’ response arrived in the shape of a fourth try with conversion as Malta gained the initiative in the latter stages of the match. Rob Holloway struck with a well-worked try for a 27-13 final scoreline.
“I have mixed feelings about our performance,” Neill told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“Unfortunately we switched off in key moments of the match and that is where we got severely punished.
“We could not avoid committing a couple of glaring mistakes and that gifted two tries to the Czechs which left us with a mountain to climb.
“One positive aspect was the reaction of the team in the second half. We finished strongly and dominated the Czechs in the last 15 minutes. But that came too late to save the match.”
Malta’s next match in Division 2A will be against Israel on April 18 in Netanya.
Results
Czech Republic vs Malta - 27-13
Croatia vs Israel - 31-20
Standings
Czech Rep. (2-0-0) 10; Croatia (1-0-1) 7; Switzerland (1-0-1) 5; Malta (1-0-1) 4; Israel (0-0-2) 0.