South Wales on the fast track

Rugby League

Rugby League

DAVE HADFIELD

The League's member clubs have voted to fast-track South Wales into the Super League next season, but have left open the question of how the club will be financed. After more than three hours yesterday - and at the second time of asking - the Council agreed to expand Super League to 13 clubs.

"This is superb news," Maurice Lindsay, the League's chief executive, said. "Meaningful expansion is vital to our game and I'm sure this will take us forward in no uncertain terms."

Despite the uncertainty about how much other clubs will lose from their News Corporation allocation, South Wales' founder, Mike Nicholas, was equally delighted. "It's magnificent," he said. "This is what we have been working towards and now we can start building up a squad for Super League. We already have a number of top rugby union players seriously interested in joining us. This is real development for the game and makes it much more of a genuine Super League."

South Wales, currently in the Second Division, will continue to be based at Cardiff Rugby Union Club's ground at the Arms Park.

More is at stake in today's match between Warrington and the Bradford Bulls than the points that could decide the pecking order at the end of the season.

The Bulls are four points ahead in third place and still have a theoretical chance of snatching the title. But today's match is given extra spice by the public exchange of views between their coach, Brian Smith, and Warrington's football executive, Alex Murphy, after the latter called for a rethink on summer rugby.

Murphy has also criticised Smith's record of "failing to finish the job" at any of his clubs; he leaves for Parramatta at the end of this season.

"It is nothing to do with Alex," said Smith yesterday. "But I've come over the years to expect a certain sort of response from him and he hasn't disappointed me."

Bradford, victors over Wigan last week, expect to be unchanged at Wilderspool, while Warrington hope that Iestyn Harris and Mark Hilton will play.

Wigan, who play Paris this evening, will have their overstretched forward resources strained further by the absence of Terry O'Connor with a leg injury. Sean Edwards is out with a knee injury, but the French forward, Gael Tallec, is added to their squad for the visit to his homeland.