Rugby League: Sullivan returns to bolster Saints

ANTHONY SULLIVAN, the Great Britain winger who has spent part of the winter playing rugby union with Cardiff, has returned to St Helens despite not being selected for this Friday's pre-season friendly against Warrington.

"Anthony hasn't had a rest since last year and needs to recharge his batteries," said the Saints coach, Ellery Hanley, who will instead look at his alternative wingers, Chris Smith and the newly signed Steve Hall.

Although Sullivan has come to the end of his agreed stint with Cardiff, his agreement with Saints could still allow him to play for Wales in the Five Nations' Championship if selected. His future now appears to be back in rugby league, however, with three years of his contract at Knowsley Road still to run and no sign of Cardiff making the sort of massive cash offer that could tempt Saints.

Va'aiga Tuigamala has dismissed speculation that he would be crossing the codes in the opposite direction by returning to rugby league on a temporary basis this summer. The cash problems of the Newcastle Falcons have led to suggestions that Tuigamala could be loaned out to a rugby league club. Although his former club Wigan have ruled themselves out, Whitehaven and the Gateshead Thunder, have said that they would like to have him on board if the price was right.

But Tuigamala said yesterday that he was unlikely to be able to fit in the extra commitment. "I still miss rugby league in some ways, but I don't really think there's any chance of it happening," he said. "There's a lot of international rugby to fit in this summer."

Salford's promising young loose forward, Ricky Helliwell, has not broken his ankle, as was feared during Sunday's game at Chorley, but will miss much of the season with ligament damage. "It is a bitter disappointment, because Ricky is one of the lads we have brought through from our Academy side from whom we were expecting great things as a member of our first- team squad this season," said Salford's coach, Andy Gregory.

Another of Salford's young hopefuls, the 21-year-old forward, Carlo Napolitano, has signed a 12-month deal to keep him at the Willows.