THE departure of Worcester Warriors prop Val Rapava Ruskin to rivals Gloucester is "a huge disappointment", according to head coach Carl Hogg.

Warriors “tried hard” to convince the powerful loosehead to remain at Sixways but the Georgian-born forward has signed a deal to join the Kingsholm outfit next season.

Ruskin, 24, says is “determined to work hard and help Gloucester to achieve their goal of winning titles again”.

“It’s a huge disappointment,” said Hogg, whose men were thrashed 55-19 at Gloucester in the Aviva Premiership last Saturday.

“Val came to us two-and-half to three years ago and had been through several clubs.

“Under the guidance of Mefin Davies, Val has developed into a very good Premiership player and I am sure he has got aspirations and an ability to play for England.

“Mefin has done a huge amount of work with him and a huge amount of credit should go to Mef. We’re disappointed to lose Val but there are others on the horizon coming in."

Hogg added: “We tried hard to keep him but players sometimes see their future elsewhere and that’s life.

"People like Nick Schonert were in a very similar situation to Val.

"Nick has clearly seen the way forward is to stay here while Val has seen it slightly differently."

Ruskin said: "I'm determined to work hard and help Gloucester to achieve their goal of winning titles again, whilst hopefully achieving my goals of playing international rugby.

"It's a huge honour and opportunity for me to sign for Gloucester. I know what a tradition the club has of producing strong forward packs and I'm looking forward to being part of an exciting group.

"I've really enjoyed my time at Worcester and appreciate everything the club has done for me.

"I wish them all the best for the future and will give my all until the end of the season."