BELGRADE, April 24 (Reuters) - Lithuania set a world record of 18 successive test wins after thrashing Serbia 77-5 in their Cup of Nations Division 3a match on Saturday. The sequence beats the record set by the All Blacks of the 1960s and matched by the world champion Springboks of the ‘90s.
Lithuania captain Mindaugas Misevicius said he was happy with his team’s accomplishment but added their priority was to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals in New Zealand.
“The most important thing is that we got through this game without any injuries,” he was quoted as saying by Belgrade’s B92 website after the victory in the suburb of Pancevo.
“It is a great achievement to win 18 games in a row but reaching the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand remains our primary objective.
“We will not dwell on this result too long because we have a crucial game against Ukraine coming up on May 8,” he added referring to their World Cup playoff game.
A win over Ukraine would send Lithuania’s team of part-timers into an even tougher two-legged playoff against Romania followed by an inter-continental playoff to determine the final qualifier for next year’s showpiece in New Zealand.
New Zealand set their record of 17 straight wins over five years from 1965, ending with a defeat by South Africa in July 1970 in Pretoria, while the Springboks had a similar wining streak from 1997-98 before losing to England at Twickenham. (Reporting by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ken Ferris; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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