Bradford interested in bringing back Paul

Bradford Bulls have confirmed that they would be interested in taking Henry Paul back to the 13-a-side code if his disillusionment with Gloucester sees him leave early in his four-year contract.

Paul has been critical of the coaching at the rugby union club, where he was dropped to the bench at the weekend. "Moving here from Bradford feels like I have taken a step down," he said. "I feel it is holding me back and the side in general."

The Bulls' chairman, Chris Caisley, responded by saying that the door was open for Paul to return. "We never wanted Henry to leave in the first place," he said. "We'd be very interested in taking him back, this season or next, if he could extricate himself from his contract."

Paul's disaffection has come as no surprise at Bradford, where he has been spending a lot of time with his former team-mates and telling them that he is not happy at Kingsholm.

But the Bulls' chief executive, Abi Ekoku, was cautious about assuming that the player would automatically be drawn back to his former club. "I don't think Henry would be short of suitors in either code, if he did decide to leave," he said. "Obviously, we would be interested in talking to him, but things move on and it is not always a good idea to go back.

"The final decision would be with our coach, Brian Noble, and he has a lot of confidence in his current squad."

The other barrier to a re-union could be financial. Apart from Paul's lucrative contract at Gloucester, there is the question of whether Bradford could fit him within their salary cap, although their recent acquisition of Wakefield rugby union club could help in that direction.

Ekoku said that a joint contract was theoretically possible. "But I don't think second division rugby union can afford Henry Paul," he said.

The Wigan chairman, Maurice Lindsay, is to meet the Newcastle and Australia scrum-half, Andrew Johns, during his current trip to Britain for the World Club Challenge against Bradford.

Lindsay hopes to persuade Johns – recently voted the world's best player for the second time in three years – to join Wigan, even though he is under contract to the Knights until the end of the 2003 season. Johns' brother, Matthew, played for Wigan last season.