 Although Malta has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, the island state has made remarkable progression since its first international in 2000.It is currently competing in the Rugby Europe Conference, after topping the Conference 1 - South for the past two seasons – 2017 and 2018 – yet failing to win the play-off to rise to the higher level.The national side is ranked 39th in the world (as of 12 October 2019).