Andy Wilson
Tuesday August 3, 2004
The Guardian
Tevita Vaikona is considering a move to rugby union with Saracens as Bradford prepare for a major shake-up of last season's treble-winning squad.
Vaikona has been a key figure in the Bulls' success since joining from Hull in 1998 but he suffered a serious knee injury in April and, even though he has a year left on his contract, it seems increasingly likely that the Tongan wing has played his last game of rugby league.
He dabbled in union last winter at a much lower level, with the Bradford and Bingley club, having represented Tonga in the Commonwealth Games sevens tournament two years ago. Now Saracens, who recently appointed the league convert Mike Ford to their coaching staff, are understood to have made an approach.
Vaikona's will not be the only departure from Odsal, with the Bulls struggling in fifth place and looking highly unlikely to retain their title.
Shontayne Hape has been strongly linked with Hull, although Bradford's chairman Chris Caisley has suggested he still hopes to retain the centre. Two more New Zealanders, Joe Vagana and Logan Swann, are also out of contract, in addition to the prop Paul Anderson, 33 in October.
But it is the future of the scrum-half Paul Deacon, out of contract in the autumn, that is prompting the most intriguing speculation, with his hometown club Wigan on the lookout to replace Adrian Lam.
The Bulls are looking for a back-row forward, after missing out on North Queensland's Glenn Morrison, and are also being linked with the Leeds prop Danny Ward - although as the anti-tampering deadline has been put back to September 1, neither they nor any club are able to confirm an interest.
Castleford have moved quickly to replace Sean Ryan, who returned to Australia last week after suffering a thigh injury and hope that Stephen Crouch, a back-row from Sydney Roosters, will be cleared to make his debut at Wakefield on Sunday. London Broncos, meanwhile, have lost Liam Botham back to Leeds after his two-month loan spell finished.
Chris Beattie has become the first Australian to sign for Perpignan, who will join the Super League in 2006. David Waite, the former Great Britain coach who is in his last year as the Rugby Football League's performance co-ordinator, is expected to join the French franchise this year.
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bon chance monsieur !
adieu
:evil: :twisted: :| :?
