In the match for third place and world ranking points, hosts Turkey were too strong in the second half for Malta, winning 36-12, in 27 degree heat and in front of a partisan crowd that included professional Aiden Sezer, part of the Turkish staff, who flew in for the game.

The sides were level at the break, but with no available substitutes Malta struggled to contain the home pack in the second period. Turkey posted seven tries, all from different scorers, scrum half Behzad Bayram finishing with 12 points and Kadiköy Bulls’ Doruk Çeliktutan, returning from an early sinbinning, breaking the deadlock after the interval.

Julien Treu, Turkey head coach commented: “We are very happy with the result. We had to refocus after the loss to the Netherlands on Thursday and we had the right attitude to finish this tournament on a good, positive note. We want more international games, we showed that we can host and we want to reach a higher level soon, the guys are keen and we have a strong team on and off the pitch.”

Excellent prop Dean Zammit collected Zarrin Galea’s kick for Malta’s first score on the half hour, hooker Robin Cutajar following him over four minutes later in a spirited overall effort.

“I cannot fault the efforts of our players,” Malta head coach Roderick Attard noted. “We had guys who were injured playing the full 80 minutes, they gave their all and it was not a walk in the park for the Turks so I am proud of them.”