MALTA            15

ISRAEL             13

The Malta rugby national team put in a valiant display to fend off Israel in a thrilling encounter at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.

A Mark Davey try with 15 minutes to hand the Maltese side a hard-fought victory in a match that saw them battling valiantly to fend off the physical challenge of the Israeli side.

The match had different facets with the Israeli dominating play for much of the opening half hour. But Damian Neill’s men refused to lie down and soaked up the pressure.

Richard Gum’s try for Malta turned the match’s momentum as from then on the home side started to cause more damage to their more-quoted opponents.

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