Rugby League: Wright shown door by Wigan

WIGAN have cancelled the contract of Nigel Wright, one of the most gifted players in the British game, after despairing of his succession of injuries.

In a short statement yesterday, the club announced that they had served Wright with notice of the termination of his playing contract. "We appreciate Nigel's disappointment, but we cannot ignore the medical advice provided," the club said.

The 24-year-old stand-off was signed from Wakefield for a record fee for a teenager in 1993, but has rarely been free of injury for long. His latest problem has been an ankle setback, but Wright said recently that he did not need another operation and was optimistic of getting match- fit.

"It's not a situation we are going to accept," said Wright's agent, David McKnight. "I'm not aware of any medical evidence that would support their contention and Nigel is available to train and play."

Wigan are also being linked with another move for their former scrum- half Shaun Edwards, with their promising young back Darryl Cardiss going to Bradford in part-exchange.

The man charged for the last three months with keeping a game pulled in various directions on a reasonably straight course could have his "L" plates removed today. Neil Tunnicliffe, the acting chief executive of the Rugby League since Maurice Lindsay joined Super League, should be confirmed in the role by the game's council.

Most of yesterday was spent in meetings with the former director-general of the Australian Rugby League, Ken Arthurson, working towards an out- of-court settlement over Australia's claim to be owed pounds 400,000 from the 1995 World Cup. Tunnicliffe's diplomacy is likely to be needed at today's meeting, when Super League clubs' qualms over the RFL's operation of the salary cap and proposals that could make the elite division more of a closed shop could be flashpoints in the uneasy relationship between the two bodies.