Malta’s Raffa Bowls team claimed third place in an international tournament held in Hard, Austria, last weekend.

The Maltese selection were joined by 16 other teams from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Poland and Liechtenstein.

The competition, featuring top Raffa bowls players from across the continent and monitored by the EBA (European Bowls Association) and the CBI (Confederazione Boccistica Internazionale), David Farrugia, Reno Farrugia and Stefan Farrugia were accompanied by Malta Raffa Bowls Club president Adrian Sciberras.

In their opening game of the tournament, the Maltese team beat the host team 12-5.

In the next round, Malta were up against the Germans. In this tactical and challenging match, the Maltese prevailed by a single point, 12-11, to secure a place in the quarter-finals where they met Liechtenstein.

The Farrugia trio made it four wins in a row as a narrow 13-12 victory sent them into the semi-finals which were played on a different pitch.

However, Malta’s positive run in this tournament came to an end when they lost to the strong Swiss team 12-2 to finish third with a total of six points.

The Swiss bowlers went on to win the title with a total nine points with a second team from Liechtenstein claiming the runners-up spot on eight points.

In a statement, the Malta Raffa Bowls Club said those interest were able to follow the Maltese team’s progress in Austria as live updates, including scores, were uploaded on its Facebook page.