Maltese officials have been forced to appoint a caretaker coach for tonight’s Rugby League international against Montenegro after Roderick Attard had to forgo the trip to the Adriatic. 

It’s understood a raft of obligations including work commitments left Attard with no choice but to stay behind, meaning Anthony Micallef is filling in for the first of four end-of-year internationals across two continents and three countries.

Micallef has opted for Australian-based Jayden Azzopardi at stand-off, putting him alongside English-based Karl Cassar in the halves as Malta looks to back up last year’s 66-6 thrashing of Montenegro. 

That game, for the inaugural Medieval Shield, was Montenegro’s first international and despite the newcomers having the advantage of playing at home this time, they face an even bigger challenge, taking the field without inspirational halfback Mitar Bošković.

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