The Malta national rugby league team (nicknamed the Knights) represent Malta in international rugby league football competitions. They have been competing since 2004.
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| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Kavallieri (The Knights) | |||||
| Governing body | Maltese Rugby League Association | |||||
| Region | Europe | |||||
| Head coach | Aaron McDonald ('A' Team) | |||||
| Captain | Tyler Cassel | |||||
| Most caps | Jarrod Sammut (16) | |||||
| Home stadium | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | |||||
| IRL ranking | 15th | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First game | ||||||
 Malta 78-0 British Defence Forces  (25 September 2004) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
Malta 82–0 Japan  (25 January 2007, Coffs Harbour, Australia) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
Malta 0-62 Lancashire Amateurs  (17 October 2010, Ħamrun, Malta) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
Current squad
edit
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
edit- 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
editBelow 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
edit| 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 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
edit| Official rankings as of 30 June 2024 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 | Australia | 100 | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 82 | |
| 3 | England | 80 | |
| 4 | Samoa | 67 | |
| 5 | Tonga | 49 | |
| 6 | 1 | Fiji | 49 |
| 7 | 1 | Papua New Guinea | 47 |
| 8 | France | 28 | |
| 9 | Lebanon | 22 | |
| 10 | Cook Islands | 20 | |
| 11 | Serbia | 19 | |
| 12 | Netherlands | 17 | |
| 13 | Italy | 15 | |
| 14 | 1 | Greece | 15 |
| 15 | 1 | Malta | 14 |
| 16 | Ireland | 14 | |
| 17 | Wales | 13 | |
| 18 | Jamaica | 10 | |
| 19 | Scotland | 9 | |
| 20 | Ukraine | 7 | |
| 21 | Czech Republic | 7 | |
| 22 | Germany | 6 | |
| 23 | 3 | Chile | 6 |
| 24 | Poland | 6 | |
| 25 | 3 | Norway | 6 |
| 26 | 1 | Kenya | 5 |
| 27 | 4 | Philippines | 5 |
| 28 | 3 | South Africa | 4 |
| 29 | Nigeria | 4 | |
| 30 | Ghana | 4 | |
| 31 | 2 | United States | 4 |
| 32 | 4 | Montenegro | 4 |
| 33 | 2 | Brazil | 3 |
| 34 | 2 | Turkey | 3 |
| 35 | 7 | North Macedonia | 3 |
| 36 | 2 | Bulgaria | 3 |
| 37 | 2 | Cameroon | 2 |
| 38 | 1 | Spain | 2 |
| 39 | 1 | Japan | 1 |
| 40 | 1 | Albania | 1 |
| 41 | 5 | Canada | 1 |
| 42 | 2 | Colombia | 1 |
| 43 | 2 | El Salvador | 1 |
| 44 | 1 | Morocco | 1 |
| 45 | Russia | 0 | |
| 46 | 2 | Sweden | 0 |
| 47 | 2 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 |
| 48 | 2 | Hungary | 0 |
| 49 | 3 | Argentina | 0 |
| 50 | Hong Kong | 0 | |
| 51 | 3 | Solomon Islands | 0 |
| 52 | 5 | Niue | 0 |
| 53 | 1 | Latvia | 0 |
| 54 | 1 | Denmark | 0 |
| 55 | 6 | Belgium | 0 |
| 56 | 1 | Estonia | 0 |
| 57 | 6 | Vanuatu | 0 |
| Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT | |||
Honours
edit- Emerging Nations: Winners (1): 2018
- Euro C: Winners (1): 2010