Malta national coach Damien Neill is expecting Malta to beat Latvia tomorrow in a European Championship (Group IIB) at the well laid out Hibernians Ground, Corradino.
Addressing a news conference yesterday, Neill said he was sure Malta will win tomorrow's match. “However, we will need all support available to be able to do it as I am sure Latvia will me making it very difficult for us. They are big and physical players, their ranking is quite high and they are bubbling with confidence.
“But we are prepared for this match. Against Croatia last week, we were somewhat unfortunate although we missed some kicks. I am lucky to have this group of players and I cannot thank them enough for their great sacrifices and great performances. It has been a great joy working with them," he added.
Neill admitted tomorrow’s match is a ‘must win’ clash. “After that we will be playing against Andorra and Poland and we also expect to do well in those matches, possibly winning them both. The key factor will be player availability. But we will be keeping our fingers crossed,” he said.
The Malta national team is supported by Cisk Lager.
Juan Borg Manduca, President of the Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU), said he expects tomorrow's match at the Hibs Ground to be a spectacular encounter.
He said: “The national team underwent a week-long intensive training camp in the UK preparing for the matches against two strong international teams - Croatia (played last Saturday in Makarska) and Latvia. Without the vital support of our sponsors, namely Cisk Lager, who have been instrumental in the progress and achievements of rugby in Malta, as well as the international coaches, team managers, volunteers and supporters we would not have been able to reach the present position.”
This is the second leg of the match as the first was played in Latvia last year. In May 2008 the national team will play its last two matches in the group - first a home game against Andorra and then away against Poland.
In the IRB World rankings, Malta is now in 53rd position while Poland is 35th, Croatia 47th, Latvia 41st and Andorra 62nd.
Damien Neill, National Coach and Director of Rugby announced the names of the national squad:
The following is the squad of players named by Damien Neill for tomorrow’s match:
Daryl Psaila, Globalair Overseas RUFC, Malta
David Borg, Kavallieri York Cisk Excel RFC, Malta
Dominic Busuttil, Beddau RFC, UK
Guy Kennedy, Queanbeyan Whites RFC, Australia
Harry Collins, Hartpury College, UK
Ian Borda, Kavallieri York Cisk Excel RFC, Malta
James Finlason, Hove RFC, UK
James Bartolo, Edinburgh Academicals, UK (1st call up)
Rohan Spiteri, Goulburn Stockmen RFC, Australia
Lee Culnane, Tuggeranong Vikings RFC, Australia
Leonard Mifsud, Stompers TGI Fridays RFC, Malta
Malcolm Attard, Stompers TGI Fridays RFC, Malta
Matthew Mirabelli, Stompers TGI Fridays RFC, Malta
Michael Whitney, Royal Agricultural College Cirencester, UK
Michael McArdle, Ealing RFC, UK
Nicholas Warren, Wootton Bassett RFC, UK
Oliver Sacco, Clifton RFC, UK
Ryan Borg, Cronulla Sharks RFC, Australia
Saviour Zarb, Easts Rugby Canberra RFC, Australia
Steven Kempster, ring RUFC, UK
Thomas Webb, Eton Manor RFC, UK
Thomas Watts, Old Coventrians RFC, UK
The Hibs Gound doors tomorrow will open at 12.30pm and the match kicks off at 2pm. The event will be hosted by Colin Fitz and Jay from XFM’s Jay and the Crew.
The event is supported by the official beer of the MRFU, Cisk Lager and The Alley Rock Bar, XFM 100.2, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Air Malta, Vodafone Malta Ltd, GasanMamo Insurance Ltd, and OnVol.
Tickets at Lm3.50 for adults and Lm1 for children U-12 are available from one of the following outlets: Exotique, Bookends, Agenda Bookshop, Vodafone Retail Outlets, Newskiosk, The Alley Rock Bar, Zmerc Pub and Rookies Sports Bar or from www.maltaticket.com.