Holgate joins new cherry and whites

Wigan got their man yesterday signing Stephen Holgate, the Workington second row, for pounds 100,000. "We have been chasing him for almost 12 months and we're delighted he's coming to Wigan," Joe Lydon, the club's football manager, said.

"His style will suit Wigan down to the ground. We want competition for places - to get back to the situation of two internationals for every shirt."

The 24-year-old Holgate, capped by England in 1995, was equally delighted to get his dream move from his native Cumbria. "I think I'll stop doing the lottery now, because I feel as though I've won it," he said.

Holgate stopped short of declaring he had always wanted to play in the cherry and white hoops, which was just as well on a day which saw Wigan unveil a new strip of cherry and white swirls with a tasteful horned helmet motif.

Salford believe that Holgate should be playing in their shade of red next season. They claim that Wigan should not have been allowed to sign the player while they still owed Salford a pounds 10,000 increment on the fee for Terry O'Connor.