SERBIA overpowered MALTA late on to secure a 52-12 win in Borča and seal the European Championship B title.
Winger Andrej Marinkovic and stand-off Nikola Djuric each scored two tries among the ten posted by Serbia, seven of them coming in the final 27 minutes after a telling period when two Maltese players sat in the sin bin.
“We really got into gear in the second half but credit to Malta, they made us work for it and it was a tough game,” said Serbia head coach Darren Fisher, whose side beat the Netherlands the previous weekend.
“I’m so pleased all round with the overall performances. It’s been a great competition for us and the guys got what they deserved with two impressive wins.”
Malta are relegated to Euro C, swapping places with Ukraine, and will play Greece and Germany next year.
Their head coach, Phil Humphrey, said: “It was a very entertaining game for 50 minutes until Serbia’s better conditioning and some of our indiscipline kicked in and made it a little one-sided.
“We’ve very much enjoyed coming here and, despite the disappointment, we’re looking forward to next year.”