Bournville flanker Louis Mifsud tasted defeat for the first time as an international player as Israel snatched a last-gasp 16-15 win over Malta in the Rugby Europe Conference at the Tony Bezzina Stadium in Paolo.
Mifsud won his third international cap and again played the full 80 minutes but his significant physical contributions on each side of the ball were not quite enough to secure a third straight win for Malta in Pool D.
Two tries from replacement hooker Harry Collins in the second-half helped Malta to turn a 13 points deficit into a 15-13 lead two minutes from time.
Collins made another significant intervention when he stripped Israel of possession close to his own line but Malta were then penalised for going off their feet in front of the posts and Israel fly-half Maayan Levinson stepped up to snatch victory at the death.
