Following the successful start to the season and the away victory against Switzerland, the Malta side will face yet another stern test against the Poles next Saturday. Poland, in fact currently occupy 34th place in the International Rugby Board’s world rankings, 18 places above Malta who are currently ranked number 52. The bulk of the current Polish squad formed part of that country’s under 18 European Championship winning side.
“The difference in our respective countries positions in the World Rankings is an indication of what a tough game we have ahead of us on Saturday,” said Malta coach, Damien Neill, who will be taking charge of his first home international since his appointment. “Despite this, the team is very confident that we will give our supporters a positive result. Both sides have played Switzerland, who are also ranked well above Malta, and it has to be said that Poland had much more trouble beating Switzerland than Malta. This fact encourages us further to believe that we can win another World Cup qualifying game,” continued Mr Neill.
The Malta – Poland match, taking place at the Micallef St John Stadium this Saturday 6 November, will kick-off at 2.00pm. Both sides have so far played one game in this qualifying round for the 2007 World Cup. Poland played at home against Switzerland, winning by 20 points to 15 while Malta won in Switzerland by 17 points to 8. Following the match on Saturday, all fans of the Malta team will be able to join the players for after-match drinks at Portside Lounge, who have been hosting the Malta rugby team throughout their preparations for the match against Poland.
“The last few seasons have seen rugby in Malta flourish. The National Rugby Team, with its long series of positive results, is doing Malta proud and we are very pleased to associate Cisk Lager – our national beer – with this team.” said Mr Ivan Filletti, Cisk Lager Brand Executive.
This year’s National League will see a total of six teams participating. These are Kavallieri, Stompers A, Stompers B, Sharks, Overseas and Alligators. Stompers B and Sharks are two new additions to the league, reflecting the growing number of rugby players in Malta. The increasing participation should also result in increased competition in the future for places in the National side.