Malta up five places in rankings

The rugby national team has moved up five places in the latest IRB rankings, issued yesterday, following Saturday's 16-3 win over Serbia and Montenegro in a 2007 World Cup third qualifying round Group B match in Pancevo.

The national team are now 53rd in the international list with 45.52 points... a mere 0.08 points behind Sweden who also rose five places in this month's rankings, topped again by New Zealand ahead of South Africa and France.

Malta's new placing caps up a positive week for the national team who bounced back in style from the Germany setback at the Hibs Ground the previous week with a spirited performance against the Serbs.

"It was the ideal way of wrapping up two tough weeks of preparation," coach Damien Neill told The Times yesterday.

"After the 0-43 result to Germany, I was a little bit worried on how to raise the morale of the players. Losing so heavily in front of our own fans hurt our pride but we badly wanted to redress the situation last weekend.

"Right from day one of our trip to Pancevo, the players were switched on the task ahead and in the end they produced one of the national team's best performances on foreign soil ever.

"They completely outplayed the Serbs and we should have won with a bigger margin. Serbia should feel lucky not to have finished with a similar result to the one we suffered against Germany."

Thanks to Saturday's result, Malta are now sharing top spot in Group B with Croatia on four points. Germany and Belgium follow with three points but having played a game less.

Serbia are bottom with no points from two matches. Germany should reclaim top spot next Saturday when they host the Serbs at Heidelberg.

Malta's next match in the 2007 World Cup qualifying campaign is scheduled for next year when they host Croatia at the Hibs Ground on April 15. They travel to Brussels to face Belgium the following week.

To keep the squad in ship shape during this five-month break from international competition, Neill is planning to hold a number of training camps in the UK.

"In the coming months I will be assessing the strengths and weaknesses in the squad and decide which areas we need to work on," Neill said.

"The new players, Guy Kennedy and Simon Micallef have done very well and they should be great assets to the national team.

"At the moment I have a long list of players to choose from but I want to restrict my selection to a squad of 45.

"I have received numerous requests from players overseas who want to play for Malta. Besides, the locally based players are also coming up well and it won't be long before they start pushing for more places in the squad too.

"This month, Malta 'A' will play against a team from HMS Illustrious and in February they will be travelling to Italy for a friendly against an amateur side. That tour will certainly be an ideal occasion for them to stake a claim for a place in the squad ahead of the April qualifiers."

One player widely tipped to be selected is Australia-based flanker Scott Fava. Until last season he played professional rugby for ACT Brumbies before moving to Western Force.

Fava, 30, was a consistent performer at Super 12 level for the Brumbies, winning the club's Best Forward award in 2004. Last season he was selected to tour France with Australia A but missed out on the great opportunity due to a hand injury.

Good results in April are essential not only to secure a positive placing in the group but also to guarantee Malta a favourable draw in next year's European Championship qualifiers. The national team is expected to play in the Second Division Pool B.

Meanwhile, the local rugby community yesterday welcomed the news that Pat Sanderson, the England international who trained with Malta 'A' in summer, was named in his country's 15-man squad that will face Australia at Twickenham this weekend.

Group B results: Croatia vs Serbia and Montenegro 26-9; Belgium vs Croatia 26-20; Malta vs Germany 0-43; Serbia and Montenegro vs Malta 3-16.

Next matches: Saturday - Germany vs Serbia and Montenegro. April 8 - Serbia and Montenegro vs Belgium. April 15 - Malta vs Croatia. April 22 - Belgium vs Malta; Croatia vs Germany. April 29 - Germany vs Belgium.

Standings: Croatia 4 (1-1); Malta 4 (1-1); Germany 3 (1-0); Belgium 3 (1-0); Serbia and Montenegro 2 (0-2).