Over the last five years, rugby has become an established sport within the island and made Malta proud in international competitions. One has just to mention 11 victories, one draw and two losses over a stretch of four years – surely a record.

Unfortunately not all that glitters is gold and this is the case with Maltese rugby. Although we are (I consider myself a proud member of such a glorious sport having been a participant for the last seven years) winning on the international front, we are losing a local war.

For the last years various MRFU (Malta Rugby Football Union) committees have been led to believe by the authorities that our sport is recognised and that the sport will be given due assistance, particularly in securing a decent stretch of land where we could train and play.

The local rugby community has grown over the last 10 years from a bunch of enthusiasts showing up on Saturday afternoons for a kick about to a proper league hosting six senior teams along with an encouraging number of youth. In spite of the efforts by the clubs to gear themselves for the competitive season, every season has been threatened by events outside the control of the union.

For the last five years the season had to start late due to late re-seeding – which is done by the government through the various ministries/departments/agencies that own the land. Last year, the season had to stop for two months due to the debris on the pitch resulting from the catastrophic flooding that hit the island.

This year is no exception. The work on the flood relief project which started during the Summer months, and which has not yet finished, has left the union a pitch which is full of construction debris and deep tracks from the heavy machinery.

The playing area is also narrower – the widening of the ditch meant reclamation of land from the sports grounds side, with uneasy access to the playing area due to the excessive mud caused by the unfinished work.

Last but not least, there has again been a delay in the league which means that we have to continue playing our games up till June when the ground is rock solid – not to mention the safety issues related to a hard ground. With all these hurdles, the union started off its league by organising the clubs for a pre-league debris removal.

This was done by hand removing stones, boulders and concrete patches.

This year seems to be anything but a lucky one for Maltese rugby. A few days ago, we got to know that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority wants to starts talks with the sports organisations utilising Marsa Sports Grounds for a possible relocation to make way for an extension of the existent golf course. The other sports organisations which are likely to be hit by this possible relocation are football, baseball, archery and netball.

During the first quarter of 2003, an official from the International Rugby Board (the rugby governing body) visited the island to check on the setup of existing facilities.

In an official meeting with the then Parliamentary Secretary within the Education Ministry, the IRB official and the MRFU officials were told that the ministry would be entering into a long term lease agreement with the MRFU for a pitch within the Marsa Sports Ground, assisting with structural works towards the preparation of the ground, and facilitating and ensuring an adequate water and electrical supply.

Following this meeting, the IRB allocated MRFU the sum of Stg50,000 as an initial assistance to the development of the said pitch. Eighteen months later, December 2004, and not only has the project not started, but the MRFU now faces the possibility of ending without facilities for at least two to three years. What is worse is that the funding from the IRB will soon be lost to some other union unless the MRFU can secure a proper lease for a rugby pitch.

I would like to ask the Maltese government how it wants to assist the Maltese to a healthier life. Surely we will not all be playing golf! The union goes through great efforts to ensure that the game is played properly by providing proper qualified coaching and proper equipment. These do not come for free and one big thanks goes to the local sponsors who have the pleasure in assisting the MRFU.

Every year the MRFU receives a good number of requests from foreign teams to play and train in Malta. According to the MRFU, the requests from visiting teams for the first five months of 2005, add up to a collective 1,300 participants. All this interest is a result of Malta’s positive results within the International Rugby competition.

The effect of these visiting teams is twofold – they give the chance to the local players to play a higher level of rugby while generating a substantial income for the island through catering and accommodation. With the existing facility, and furthermore with the possible treat of this being taken away, we could forget hosting these visiting teams.

I would like to ask the government whether it seriously has at heart the future of Maltese sports in particular that of rugby.

It should stop playing political games and shifting our pleas for help from one agency to another. The MRFU is made of members (players – male and female, youth and minis) who all love the game and have gone through great efforts to see the sport grow on the island.

We will not let their efforts fume so easily, and neither would the circa 2,000 supporters that followed the national team against Poland last month.

Pierre Mangion

President

Kavallieri RFC