Malta national rugby league team

Malta
Badge of Malta team
Team information
NicknameKavallieri
(The Knights)
Governing bodyMaltese Rugby League Association
RegionEurope
Head coachAaron McDonald ('A' Team)
CaptainTyler Cassel
Most capsJarrod Sammut (16)
Home stadiumCharles Abela Memorial Stadium
IRL ranking15th
Uniforms
First colours
Second colours
Team results
First game
 Malta 78-0 British Defence Forces United Kingdom
(25 September 2004)
Biggest win
 Malta 82–0 Japan 
(25 January 2007, Coffs Harbour, Australia)
Biggest defeat
 Malta 0-62 Lancashire Amateurs Lancashire
(17 October 2010, Ħamrun, Malta)
World Cup
Appearances0

The Malta national rugby league team (nicknamed the Knights) represent Malta in international rugby league football competitions. They have been competing since 2004.

Current squad

Malta lining up for a match against Italy ahead of the 2017 World Cup
Malta in action against Chile in 2015
Malta in action against Italy in 2017

23-man squad selected for the international against 🇵🇭 Philippines on 23 October 2022.

  • Ryan Azzopardi
  • Matt Borg
  • Joel Bradford
  • Anthony Bucca
  • Carlo Cassar
  • Kyle Cassel
  • Tyler Cassel
  • Jono Dallas
  • Zarrin Galea
  • Aaron Grech
  • Kyal Greene
  • Tyson Jackson
  • Connor McDermott
  • Blake Phillips
  • Justin Rodrigues
  • Zac Rodrigues
  • Jarrod Sammut
  • Jake Scott
  • Ben Stone
  • Josh Vella
  • Zac Vella
  • Jarrod Xerri
  • Jordan Xuereb
  • Cameron Sultana

List of Head Coaches

  • Joey Grima 2005-06 (5 matches, 3 wins, 2 losses)
  • Tony Farr 2007 (1 match)
  • Anthony Micallef 2008-2015 (12 matches, 7 wins, 5 losses)
  • Peter Cassar 2017 (1 match, 0 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses)
  • Aaron McDonald 2017- (12 matches, 9 wins, 3 losses)
  • Sam Blyton-Keep 2017-2018 (3 matches, 0 wins, 3 losses)
  • James Camilleri 2018 (1 match, 0 wins, 1 loss)
  • Roderick Attard 2021- (3 matches, 1 win, 2 losses)

Competitive record

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Malta at test level up until 18 February 2024:

Team First Played Played Win Draw Loss Points For Points Against Last Meeting
 Belgium 2015 1 1 0 0 35 34 2015
 Bulgaria 2022 1 1 0 0 50 6 2022
 Chile 2023 1 1 0 0 30 22 2023
 Czech Republic 2014 2 1 0 1 50 48 2021
 Denmark 2012 2 2 0 0 98 24 2012
 Germany 2011 1 0 0 1 12 36 2011
 Greece 2014 3 1 0 2 52 92 2018
 Hungary 2017 3 3 0 0 108 26 2018
 Ireland 2015 2 0 0 2 32 92 2016
 Italy 2017 3 1 1 1 59 82 2023
 Japan 2007 1 1 0 0 82 0 2007
 Lebanon 2017 2 0 0 2 54 22 2022
 Montenegro 2022 2 1 0 0 100 16 2023
 Niue 2018 2 1 0 1 40 42 2018
 North Macedonia 2022 2 2 0 0 76 24 2023
 Norway 2010 2 2 0 0 94 44 2011
 Philippines 2017 4 3 0 1 148 90 2023
 South Africa 2018 1 0 0 1 24 30 2018
 Spain 2015 1 1 0 0 40 30 2015
 Turkey 2019 2 1 0 1 40 48 2021
 Ukraine 2018 1 0 0 1 22 34 2018
 Wales 2019 1 0 0 1 16 34 2019
Total   40 24 1 15 1262 876  

Results

Date Team 1 Score Team 2 Competition Venue
25 January 2007  Japan 0-82  Malta Friendly Coff's Harbour, Australia
4 June 2010  Malta 30-20  Norway 2010 Euro C Victor Tedesco Stadium, Ħamrun, Malta
17 October 2010  Malta 0-62 Lancashire Lancashire Amateurs Friendly Victor Tedesco Stadium, Ħamrun, Malta
23 July 2011  Germany 36-12  Malta 2011 Euro B Hochspeyer, Kaiserslautern, Germany
2 September 2011  Malta 64-24  Norway Melita FC, Pembroke, Malta
8 June 2012  Malta 24-12  Denmark Friendly Victor Tedesco Stadium, Ħamrun, Malta
29 September 2012  Denmark 12-74  Malta Friendly Gentofte Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
28 June 2014  Malta 18-32  Greece 2014 Euro C Melita FC, Pembroke, Malta
12 July 2014  Czech Republic 8-3  Malta Tis RL, Havlichkuv Brod, Czech Republic
21 June 2015  Malta 35-34  Belgium Friendly Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds, England
5 September 2015  Malta 22-34  Ireland Friendly Melita FC Stadium, Pembroke, Malta
27 September 2015  Spain 40-30  Malta 2015 Euro C Polideportivo Cuatre Carreres Stadium, Valencia, Spain
10 October 2015  Malta 30-0  Greece Matthew Micallef St. John Athletics Stadium, Marsa, Malta
13 October 2016  Ireland 58-10  Malta Friendly Carlisle Grounds, Bray, Ireland
4 February 2017  Philippines 26-44  Malta Friendly New Era Stadium, Sydney, Australia
6 May 2017  Lebanon 24-8  Malta Friendly New Era Stadium, Sydney, Australia
8 October 2017  Italy 24-24  Malta Friendly Marconi Stadium, Sydney, Australia
14 October 2017  Malta 48-16  Hungary Friendly New Era Stadium, Sydney, Australia
18 February 2018  Malta 40-0  Hungary Friendly St. Mary's Stadium, St. Mary's, Australia
23 June 2018  South Africa 30-24  Malta Friendly St. Mary's Stadium, St. Mary's, Australia
30 June 2018  Malta 22-34  Ukraine 2018 Euro C Matthew Micallef St. John Athletics Stadium, Marsa, Malta
15 September 2018  Greece 60-4  Malta Glyka Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 October 2018  Malta 36-10  Philippines Friendly St. Mary's Stadium, St. Mary's, Australia
4 October 2018  Malta 16-26  Niue Friendly St. Mary's Stadium, St. Mary's, Australia
12 October 2019  Malta 23-20  Italy Friendly Kirkham Oval, Sydney, Australia
26 October 2019  Malta 28-12  Turkey Friendly New Era Stadium, Sydney, Australia
23 November 2019  Wales 34-16  Malta Friendly Brewery Field, Bridgend, Wales
14 October 2021  Malta 16-40  Czech Republic Friendly Huseyin AkarTesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Türkiye
17 October 2021  Turkey 36-12  Malta Friendly Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Türkiye
6 February 2022  Malta 54-6  North Macedonia Friendly Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, Australia
14 May 2022  Malta 66-6  Montenegro Friendly Charles Abela Memorial Stadium, Mosta, Malta
22 June 2022  Lebanon 30-14  Malta Friendly Belmore Oval, Belmore, Australia
8 October 2022  Bulgaria 6-50  Malta Friendly Lokomotiv Sofia, Bulgaria
26 February 2023  Malta 32-16  North Macedonia Friendly Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia
23 September 2023  Malta 78-0  Bulgaria Friendly Marsa Sports Complex, Marsa, Malta
7 October 2023  Italy 38-12  Malta Friendly Lidcombe Oval, Sydney, Australia
28 October 2023  Malta 46-22  Philippines Friendly New Era Stadium, Sydney, Australia

IRL Rankings

  • v
  • t
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Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  Australia 100
2 Steady  New Zealand 82
3 Steady  England 80
4 Steady  Samoa 67
5 Steady  Tonga 49
6 Increase 1  Fiji 49
7 Decrease 1  Papua New Guinea 47
8 Steady  France 28
9 Steady  Lebanon 22
10 Steady  Cook Islands 20
11 Steady  Serbia 19
12 Steady  Netherlands 17
13 Steady  Italy 15
14 Increase 1  Greece 15
15 Decrease 1  Malta 14
16 Steady  Ireland 14
17 Steady  Wales 13
18 Steady  Jamaica 10
19 Steady  Scotland 9
20 Steady  Ukraine 7
21 Steady  Czech Republic 7
22 Steady  Germany 6
23 Increase 3  Chile 6
24 Steady  Poland 6
25 Increase 3  Norway 6
26 Increase 1  Kenya 5
27 Decrease 4  Philippines 5
28 Decrease 3  South Africa 4
29 Steady  Nigeria 4
30 Steady  Ghana 4
31 Increase 2  United States 4
32 Increase 4  Montenegro 4
33 Decrease 2  Brazil 3
34 Decrease 2  Turkey 3
35 Increase 7  North Macedonia 3
36 Decrease 2  Bulgaria 3
37 Decrease 2  Cameroon 2
38 Decrease 1  Spain 2
39 Decrease 1  Japan 1
40 Decrease 1  Albania 1
41 Increase 5  Canada 1
42 Decrease 2  Colombia 1
43 Decrease 2  El Salvador 1
44 Decrease 1  Morocco 1
45 New entry  Russia 0
46 Decrease 2  Sweden 0
47 Decrease 2  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48 Increase 2  Hungary 0
49 Increase 3  Argentina 0
50 New entry  Hong Kong 0
51 Decrease 3  Solomon Islands 0
52 Decrease 5  Niue 0
53 Increase 1  Latvia 0
54 Decrease 1  Denmark 0
55 Decrease 6  Belgium 0
56 Decrease 1  Estonia 0
57 Decrease 6  Vanuatu 0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

Honours

See also

  • Sports portal

References

  • Malta Rugby league website
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Rugby Union in Malta
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