Malta national rugby union team
The Malta national rugby union team are governed by the Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU). Although Malta has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, the island state has made remarkable progression since its first international in 2000.
| Nickname(s) | Il-imtaten (The Rams) | |
|---|---|---|
| Emblem | The Ram | |
| Union | Malta Rugby Football Union | |
| Head coach | Damian Neill | |
| Captain | Dominic Busuttil | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 38 (as of 23 November 2020) | |
| First international | ||
 Moldova 58–8 Malta  (2000-11-18) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
 Andorra 3–89 Malta (2018-03-24) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
| Moldova 58–8 Malta (2000-11-18) | ||
| World Cup | ||
| Appearances | 0 | |
It is currently competing in the Rugby Europe Conference, after topping the Conference 1 - South for the past two seasons – 2017 and 2018 – yet failing to win the play-off to rise to the higher level. The national side is ranked 39th in the world (as of 12 October 2019).
History
Malta's national team played their first match on 18 November 2000, against Moldova in Chişinău, which Moldova won 58–8. They played a subsequent match against Belgium that same year in Marsa, which Belgium won 26–0. Malta played four matches in 2001, and they recorded their first win in the fourth of them, against Monaco in Marsa. This was followed by a draw 10–10 with Norway, defeating Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro, Latvia and Hungary. They then played Moldova in 2004.
Malta then proceeded to enter the 2007 Rugby World Cup European qualification tournament where they were grouped in Pool D of the second round. After finishing third in their pool with two wins from four pool games, Malta entered a play-off along with Denmark, Andorra and Sweden to enter round three. Malta were successful and entered Pool B of round three.
The team is currently ranked 39th in the World Rugby world rankings, their highest ever position. They are coached by Welshman Damian Neill, a former Number 8 in the Welsh Premiership with Aberavon RFC and Maesteg RFC.
Current squad
Note: Squad as at 24 March 2018[1]
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhodri Apsee | Prop | Bridgend Ravens | ||
| Daniel Holliday | Hooker | Falcons RFC | ||
| Anthony Harvey | Prop | Overseas RFC | ||
| Clayton Cassar | Lock | Overseas RFC | ||
| Benji Borg | Lock | 20 | Falcons RFC | |
| Darren Deguara | Flanker | 20 | ||
| Luke Watts | Flanker |  Otley R.U.F.C. | ||
| Daniel Apsee | Number 8 | 45 | 30 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Cardiff RFC |
| Julian Galea | Scrum-half | 43 | Falcons RFC | |
| Rob Holloway | Fly-half | 42 | Sedgley Tigers | |
| Chris Dudman | Centre | Westcliff RFC | ||
| Dominic Busuttil (c) | Centre | 74 | ||
| Tom Holloway | Scrum-half | Sale FC Rugby Club | ||
| James Kirk | Wing | 27 | 27 | Hull RUFC |
| James O'Brien | Fullback | |||
| Dragan Cerketa | Lock | Stompers RFC | ||
| Matthew Spiteri | Prop | Stompers RFC | ||
| Harry Collins | Hooker | Overseas RFC | ||
| Gary Hili | Number 8 | Stompers RFC | ||
| Rory O'Brien | Centre | |||
| Andrew Vella | Flanker | Falcons RFC | ||
| Luke Mathews | Wing | |||
| Brendan Dalton | Wing | Falcons RFC |
Coaches
| Name | Years | Tests | Won | Lost | Drew | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Neill | 2016 - present | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Len Ethel | 2000–2001 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Nigal Ben Bennett | 2001–2002 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50% |
| Graham Richards | 2002–2004 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 80% |
Records of International Matches
Malta's test match record against all nations:[2]
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
 Austria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Bulgaria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Croatia | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 |
 Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Denmark | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
 Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Hungary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Latvia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71 |
 Lithuania | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 67 |
 Luxembourg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Moldova | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
 Monaco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
 Netherlands | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
 Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50 |
 Poland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
 Serbia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 |
 Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Sweden | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75 |
 Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 |
| Total | 60 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 49 |
References
- http://www.rugbyeurope.eu/2018-rugby-europe-international-championships-m8-malta-vs-andorra#player1-7
- "Results of all Internationals" (PDF). Malta Rugby. Retrieved 4 February 2015.