International rugby will return to Maltese soil for the first time this year on the 25th March, with Malta facing Cyprus in a Conference 1 South Fixture, which will be played at the Tony Bezzina Stadium in Paola.  

Gates will be open from 12:30 and kick off will be at 14:00, and the party atmosphere synonymous with international rugby is not something for anybody to miss.

Malta is then set to play Israel in an away match on 15 April to close out the first round of fixtures from the Rugby Europe Conference 1 South.

Malta has already played two matches as part of this competition: a home loss to Bulgaria, who currently top the group, and a strong away win against Slovenia which propelled Malta to third place in the group of five countries.

Wins against Cyprus and Israel could see Malta leapfrog into second place and put increased pressure on Bulgaria who must face Slovenia and Cyprus to close off the first round.

The Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU) said in a statement that they are expecting a large crowd to attend what is also going to be a farewell match for long-serving coach Damian Neill, with many supporters and ex-National players travelling to the venue, to make it a “Festival of Rugby”.

Neill announced this week that he will be leaving his post, having served in it for the last 18 years - making him international rugby's longest serving coach globally. 

Tickets for the match are available on ticketline.com.