FORMER MUNSTER HOOKER Mark McDermott has been appointed as acting head coach of the Russian national team following the resignation of long-serving Alexander Pervukhin.
McDermott, who was previously IRFU national elite player development manager and then Ireland U21s coach, will oversee Russia’s remaining two 2019 World Cup qualification games.
Russia have won three of their six Rugby Europe Championship outings and need a bonus-point win against Romania on 3 March to keep their hopes of qualifying for a first World Cup since 2011 alive.
Pervukhin’s resignation comes as a shock after he spent three years at the helm, during which he helped the national team win three Cup of Nations titles and oversaw the establishment of both Enisey-STM and Krasny Yar in the Continental Cup and Challenge Cup competitions.
During his playing career, McDermott made 19 appearances for Munster while also lining out for an Ireland XV in 1999.
Mark McDermott will serve as #RugbyBears Acting Head Coach for the remainder of #REC2018 after the RUR Supreme Council today decided to accept letter of resignation from Alexander Pervukhin pic.twitter.com/MfVxEibMlM
— Rugby Union Russia (@russiarugby) February 19, 2018
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Always enjoyed his punditry.
How much is that worth to him!
I remember his ‘Between the Lines’ segment during matches shown on RTÉ. Terrible.