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MT 18 March 2018

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54 maltatoday SUNDAY 18 MARCH 2018 Sports RUGBY BASKETBALL Rugby Europe Championship - Malta defeat Israel Israel ......................... 17 Malt ........................... 24 IN this Rugby Europe Cham- pionship Conference 1 south game, Malta ran out the winners by 24 points to 17. Played in Ne- tanya Israel, these Maltese Cru- saders had to withstand a second half onslaught with a desperate Israeli team looking for a win. In the last encounter between these teams, Malta had won by 39 to 17. But this was a different team on their home ground who played with passion even if not as direct as Malta. It took Malta 15 minutes before they got on the scoreboard, after a period of attacking rugby, keep- ing Israel on the back foot, Malta scored through Anthony Har- vey(3) from close in, with O'Brien converting, Malta had their tails up and in front by 7 to 0. A yellow card to Luke Watts(7) didn't help Malta's cause but Malta withstood the change in momentum with a man down. On Watt's return he went from zero to hero scoring a try after Rob Holloway had scorched the earth with a weaving run at pace, step- ping the Israeli defence and beat- ing about 10 players to give Watts his try. Israel playing against the wind worked their way into the Maltese half on several forays but a com- bination of Maltese pressure and poor decision-making thwarted their efforts. Against the run of play with Malta attacking through the backs, a wide ball held up by the wind and Ori Abutbul(13) inter- cepted around the half way mark and ran it in to score. He convert- ed his own try to make the half- time score; Malta 14, Israel 7. The second half kicked off with Israel mounting a wave of at- tacks on the Maltese tryline and they were finally rewarded with a penalty for an offside by Malta, right in front which Abutbul duly kicked to inch his team closer at 14 to 10. Malta somewhat lost their way with a lack of communication be- tween players with isolated run- ners turning over the ball, but it was soon corrected with the forwards regaining their com- posure and putting the Israelis under pressure on their own line. From close to a ruck Watts ran hard off a pass from his half- back, running a great line then straightening and going over to score his second try. With the score at 21 to 10 after the O'Brien conversion, Israel knew they had to score quickly to stay in the game and again Abutbul was the go-to man after a period of indiscipline, back- chatting the Spanish referee marching Malta back another 10 metres, with the Israeli backline setting Abutbul up for his try with an inside ball. With his con- version it was Malta 21, Israel 17 and it was still anyone's game. Malta went on the attack again working their big forwards up field and after constant pressure Israel conceded a penalty which O'Brien put straight down the middle from 35 metres out. A big scrum by Malta won them a penalty with the Israeli scrum trying to wheel it sideways illegally, with the kick into touch ending this game. The work of the Maltese defence won them the day 24 to 17. Man of the match: Malta: Luke Watts. Israel: Ori Abutbul. Next weekend Malta takes on Andorra at Hibernians Sta- dium. Tickets available from www.ticketline.com.mt. BOV Female Player of the Month Mgarr's Brenda Borg wins award for January and February MGARR United's Brenda Borg is the BOV Female Player of the Month for January and February 2018. Brenda earned her 30th cap for Malta in Malta's 4-1 win over Es- tonia on the eighth February and was only denied her name on the scoresheet by the Estonian keeper who managed to deflect Borg's an- gled shot into a corner. Borg gave title contenders Hiber- nians a run for their money with her eighth minute goal, gving them the lead until the 70th minute, with Hi- bernians winning the game with a stoppage time goal. She also scored Mgarr's third goal in their 3-0 win over Kirkop with an excellent strike on the 70th minute. Charles Azzopardi, Executive PR and Marketing presented the BOV Female Player of the Month trophies to Brenda Borg. Bank of Valletta is a major supporter of sporting initia- tives and a long term supporter fo female football in Malta.

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