Bertrank was officially hired on October 12, although he never led the Portuguese squad in any games. Instead, he coached the Lusitanos XV in the opening two games of the European Super Cup this year.

Bertrank needed to visit Portugal more frequently due to “the significant increase in workload” brought on by demands the ‘Wolves’ have had since their World Cup participation, the FPR said in a statement.

“This would lead to the termination of his professional relationship with the French Ministry of Sport, a situation he wishes to avoid,” said the organisation.


A few days after Portugal's historic World Cup victory 24-23 over Fiji under Patrice Lagisquet, Sébastian Bertrank was officially named head coach.


Author

A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn