The Malta Rugby League (MRL) has announced a 44-man train-on squad for the upcoming 2025 European Championship, with players selected from Malta, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Maltese, ranked 13th in the world, will begin their campaign on Saturday 18 October at home against the Netherlands, who are ranked 9th. Two weeks later they will travel to Belgrade to face Serbia, ranked 11th.
Preparations for the tournament began in June with a week-long training camp that introduced new local players, followed by a fixture against the touring Exeter University.
Elite Players Identified
The MRL has confirmed that seven players with connections to NRL clubs in Australia are eligible for selection. Among them is 18-year-old Harrison Jewitt, who debuted for Malta last year against Italy and is currently training with the Super League squad at Castleford Tigers.
Veteran halfback Jarrod Sammut has also been named in the train-on squad.
Strong Domestic Representation
A total of 21 Malta-based players feature in the squad. Falcons RFC contribute 9 players, while 6 have been selected from former MRL champions Stompers RFC. At least 10 of the matchday 17 are expected to be products of the domestic competition.
Head coach Philip Humphrey said: “These are the fixtures every player looks forward to each year, and the European Championship comes at a time where we can assess the progress of our seasoned regulars, as well as some new faces we’ve unearthed over the summer. Our opposition will be somewhat of an unknown quantity, in the sense that we’ve never played against the Dutch nor the Serbians before. But their international ranking tells a lot, both of the teams are ranked higher than us, the Netherlands inside the world top ten”.
Humphrey, who is based in England, is supported by senior players Karl Cassar and Kaine Dimech, team manager Anthony Micallef and former captain Ben Sammut, who has assisted with identifying elite players in Australia.
Opposition Prepare for Campaign
The Netherlands have named a 42-man train-on squad that includes 4 players based in Australia and France. In Group C, Italy will open their campaign against Ukraine on 18 October, while Group D will begin with Norway hosting Czechia, followed by Germany’s opening match the following week.
Malta’s squad includes a blend of domestic players and those competing abroad. The Knights have a track record of combining youth and experience, with previous campaigns producing notable results, including a 42-0 victory over Italy last September.
The 2025 European Championship fixtures for Group B are as follows:
- Malta v Netherlands, Saturday 18 October (Malta)
- Netherlands v Serbia, Saturday 25 October (Netherlands)
- Serbia v Malta, Saturday 1 November (Serbia)
