Depleted Crusaders sign wing Williams

Crusaders have signed a local reinforcement to help compensate for the three players they will be without in Cardiff at the weekend.

The north Wales club will not have Rhys Hanbury, Frank Winterstein or new signing Hep Cahill available for the opening game of the Super League season against Salford at the Millennium Stadium.

All three are in Australia, awaiting completion of their paperwork before linking up with the club. But Crusaders have signed Warrington's Welsh international winger Rhys Williams on a month's loan to help to fill the void.

Williams played for Iestyn Harris, the Crusaders' and the Welsh national coach, in the Europa Cup last year.

"Rhys is a balanced player who has got to the stage where he needs to be playing Super League regularly," Harris said. Williams could go straight into the side against the City Reds.

There will be no debut at Cardiff, however, for Weller Hauraki, who was signed by Leeds from Crusaders this winter, but is still waiting for his work permit to come through.

Kylie Leuluai has had better luck and is available to play for the Rhinos against Bradford because his permit has been successfully renewed.

Wakefield's captain, Glenn Morrison, has denied they will be adversely affected in their Millennium Stadium match against Castleford by uncertainty over the club's future.

"We have to concentrate on what we can do as players on the field," he said. "Other people will see that the right people take over the club."

The South Wales Scorpions have persuaded a rugby union player to switch codes, with Robin Lock joining them from Glamorgan Wanderers.