RUR's Howard Thomas living in la la land

In his role as RUR vice president, Howard Thomas has been ever willing to do some of the most cheesy fantasy filled "Russia coming in from the cold" interviews. Here is just a sample.

"Russia want to be one of the top eight countries in the world by the 2019 World Cup. We want to be quarter-finalists at that tournament, even if we don’t get the honour of hosting the World Cup. The ambition for the game here is overwhelming. Russian men just have what I call the rugby DNA – they are big, hard, strong, aggressive, fast and very committed." - 23/11/2008

"The potential of Russian rugby players is unlimited. If you started with the genetic needs of a rugby player you would not go far past what a Russian man can deliver. They are hard, fast, physical, aggressive, committed and focused." - 15/11/2009

"We have got a five-year detailed strategic plan and so far we are doing a good job of sticking to it. We want to be a top 12 rugby nation by 2015 and we want to reach the quarter-final of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan." - 11/09/2011

"Hosting this tournament in Moscow is hugely important to Russian Rugby. It will accelerate interest and participation in our country. Rugby is already going from strength to strength and we are determined to make this event a success." - 12/12/2012

Now just as a reminder, this is the side that just last weekend lost 34-3 to Romania at home playing on a random pitch in a small village, in front of one man and his dog and with coverage being a mute one camera stream. Still doing a good job sticking to that "five-year detailed strategic plan" Mr Thomas? He put in a sterling attempt to take it outright, but Mark Dodson now has a big rival for the prize for "most epically deluded strategic plan".