Malta coach Damien Neill yesterday urged his players to lift their game and steer the country to its third victory in the FIRA-AER Division 2A group as the rugby national team continue their preparations for Saturday’s international against Switzerland at the Hibs Stadium.
Malta come into the match in fine fettle after coming from behind to overcome Israel 16-13 in Netanya, last weekend.
Victory enabled the national team to move up to third place in the standings on eight points, level with Croatia. The Czech Republic are currently leading the group on 14 points.
Despite the victory, Neill was not impressed with his players’ performance in Israel and expects them to show significant improvement against the Swiss on home soil.
“I was not too happy with how we played in our last match,” Neill said.
“We warned our players not to take Israel lightly as they would offer a stiff challenge. However, I have to admit that our team were well below their best.
“We spurned a series of chances that cost us at least 18 points and that enabled Israel to remain in the game.
“In the end, we had to dig deep to preserve our advantage and win the match.
“Now, I hope the Israel qualifier has served as an eye opener for the players. Another match like that on Saturday and we will be punished by the Swiss for sure.”
Switzerland travel to Malta on the back of a resounding 40-20 win over Croatia, also played on Saturday, to strengthen their grip on second place.
Neill reckons that Switzerland’s main goal at the Hibs Stadium will be to beat Malta and step up their challenge for promotion.
“I’m sure that the Swiss are thinking of coming here to win and maintain their promotion chances,” he told reporters yesterday.
“But we’ll be doing our best not to let that happen. For us the most important thing is to win the match and I want my players to be ready for the challenge.
“Switzerland are very strong and particularly good in the forward line... they also boast a very talented flyhalf. But we have already shown in this group that we are the better team as we beat them easily in the away match.”
The Malta coach has a few injury concerns, namely Clayton Cassar, Dan Apsee, Dominic Busuttil and James Morris. However, he is confident they will all recover in time for Saturday.
Looking beyond the next qualifier, Neill said he wants to maintain the steady progress and deve-lopment of the game in the national competitions.
“Rugby has come a long way since I first came here more than a decade ago,” the Welshman mused.
“This year, for the first time, we have sent an U-18 selection to compete in the European Championship Division C in Andorra and they achieved some excellent results.”
In June the Maltese rugby sevens selections will be taking part in the European Championship.
“That tournament will also serve as qualifiers for the Olympics.
“Investing in youth is crucial to stay competitive and improve,” Neill added.
“Other countries are always looking to improve their set-ups and we have to do the same.
“Lithuania were relegated from Division 2A last year but this season they have introduced semi-pro and professional schemes for the national team players. Israel were recently allocated a government grant of €250,000 to continue developing the game.
“In Malta, our focus is on the Under-12s and Under-14s, they represent the future base of our national teams.
“We have done lots of work in recent years and the response has been encouraging. So, hopefully, that will convince the authorities here to increase their support to our federation and the sport.”
The squad
D. Apsee, R. Apsee, D. Busuttil, M. Camilleri, C. Cassar, D. Cerketa, H. Collins, M. Cordle, J. Cutajar, M. Davey, D. Deguara, D. Edmunds, D. Holliday, T. Holloway, J. Kirk, K. Mason, J. Morris, T. Neal, J. O’Brien, T. Quarendon, M. Spiteri, V. Stivala. L. Watts, C. Briffa, C. Sammut, J. Ellul, M. Galea, T. Galdes.