Lack of investment forces Crusaders to move camp

(GETTY IMAGES)

Troubled Super League club Crusaders are preparing to announce that they will be based in Wrexham next season.

The former Celtic Crusaders have played in Bridgend since their formation in 2006 and were supposed to move to Newport for next season.

However, a lack of investors in South Wales has prompted a rethink, although there is likely to be a new South Wales club in Championship One when that division's delayed fixtures are announced next week. That could be based in Bridgend, though Port Talbot and Pontypridd have both been discussed as possibilities.

The Widnes MP, Derek Twigg, has already complained that the move invalidates the decision to elevate the Crusaders to Super League – at Widnes' expense – for last season.

Crusaders' players and potential players have been told not to commit themselves to any accommodation in South Wales. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee has become the club's first high-profile signing for 2010, the Hull hooker or half-back agreeing a 12-month deal.

His team-mate, Paul King, another not wanted at the KC Stadium, is interesting Wakefield, who have released James Stosic, because he cannot obtain a Macedonian passport to exempt him from the import quota.