Malta outclassed in second half

Malta 0 Germany 43

Malta's Rugby Union national team were yesterday beaten by a superior Germany side in the opening World Cup 2007 Group B third round qualifier played at a packed Hibs Ground.

It was a disappointing outcome to a match that seemed heading to a completely different conclusion after Malta's first-half showing. Damien Neill's side looked well equipped to hold their own against the Germans, ranked no.27 in the world. They had only managed a slim three-point advantage before the break.

However, Germany, who earlier in the campaign had scored comfortable wins over Luxembourg (96-0), Denmark (56-0) and Austria (69-9), were a completely different team in the second half. They showed all their true class, scoring two early tries that paved the way to a comprehensive 43-0 win.

Tim Kasten crossed the line twice for the visitors with the other tries coming from Alexander Widiker, Stefan Thier, Hendry Van Look, Sebastien Chaule and Jacques Lemmer. The latter also had three conversions. Gungor Mustafa scored the other two points.

Neill was visibly disappointed with the result. He admitted that the Germans were clearly the better team on the day but said the match could have taken another twist had the Maltese taken some of the chances which fell their way.

"I think the final scoreline is a bit cruel on my players given their efforts, especially in the opening half when I felt we were playing at a par with them," the Malta coach commented.

"The Germans were not at their best in the first half, squandering several passes. But, unfortunately, we failed to make the most of those inviting situations and in the end those misses proved costly.

"In the second half all our plans went up in the air when they surprised us with those early tries... then it was difficult for us to come back."

Malta has another qualifier coming up next Saturday against Serbia in Belgrade. Neill reckons it will be an ideal occasion for the players to bounce back into form.

"We have to put this setback behind us quickly and start thinking about the Serbia match," Neill said. "This week we will be analysing what went wrong against Germany and try to adjust our game ahead of our next match. I'm sure next Saturday it will be a different story."

Malta: K. Mason, J. Ramage, T. Webb, L. Watts, C. Vassallo, S. Haycock, S. Kempster, D. St George, J. Dimond, R. Spiteri, O. Sacco, D. Busuttil, J. Caruana, S. Micallef, J. Sultana.

Subs used: M. Whitley, I. Borda, M. Mirabelli, G. Kennedy, H. Collins.

Germany: A. Widiker 5, T. Coly, P. Faber, J. Schmidt, G. Van Look, T. Kasten 10, A. Pipai, S. Thier 5, J. Lemmer 11, K. Davies, H. Van Look 5, C. Grazanna, C. Von Grumkow, C. Doring, G. Mustafa 2.

Subs used: S. Chaule 5, K. Benjamin, A. Trick, O. Stock.