Experienced coach Stuart Wilkinson has completed his first visit to Russia to assess and aid their prospects for the 2013 World Cup, as part of the World Cup Accelerator programme. During  his five day trip, the Widnes Vikings coach, seconded to Russia by national team coach Vinny Webb of the RFL, spent time with all the RARLC clubs observing the domestic state of the sport and offering ideas for improvement in the build up to their World Cup qualifiers in October.

“I saw some fantastic potential and some big gaps,” noted Wilkinson, a former Welsh national team coach. “But one thing was consistent – rugby intelligence.” He delivered two sessions a day to different clubs in Moscow and the Moscow Region. “It was very intense but all responded very well and proved to be extremely enthusiastic to learn more about the game,” he continued.

He also watched the Moscow v Moscow Region trial match and gave feedback on individual and team performances, as well as identifying nine players for the national squad. He is returning to Russia in a few weeks time as part of a work schedule that is focused on preparing the Bears for the world cup qualfiiers, which Russia kick off with a trip to Italy. “I am starting to formulate plans for between now and October, make regular visits and contact with elite players. I will work closely with Edgard Taturyan and I can`t wait to go back to Russia where I`ve made some great friends.”

Taturyan, the president of Russian rugby league, was delighted by the whole process and encouraged about his nation’s prospects in the qualifying matches against Italy, Lebanon and Serbia. “It`s been fantastic to have Stuart here and we  hope that his regular visits will give our players and coaches a better understanding of the game which they can put in practice,” he said.