Smith takes leave of Bulls to join Clubb at Harlequins

The Harlequins coach Brian McDermott has gone back to his old club, Bradford, to sign the winger Andy Smith.

The 22-year-old has made 10 first-team appearances in three years. He had hoped for more opportunities following the departure of Marcus Bai, but slipped down the pecking order after the signing of Nathan McAvoy from Wigan.

"Andy has been fantastically loyal to the club and he has been here a while now," the Bradford coach Steve McNamara said. "But the reality is that he has struggled to get out of the Under-21s. He needs first-team football, so this move is best for everyone."

Smith is unlikely to make his debut for Quins at St Helens tomorrow night, when McDermott is more likely to rely on a local product, Tony Clubb, who has agreed a contract extension until the end of the 2008 season.

Clubb, 19, from Grave-send and a product of the Greenwich Admirals club, made seven first-team appearances last year, scoring a hat-trick of tries against Toulouse in the Challenge Cup."He has come on by leaps and bounds on the back of a very good pre-season," said McDermott.

The Rugby Football League expects to appoint a Great Britain coach before the end of March, and Shaun McRae, the Australian who has coached St Helens, Gateshead and Hull, said yesterday: "It is something I would look forward to if I were to be considered the person for the job. I am able to meet the job description and I am looking forward to speaking to the RFL in the near future."

Dean Bell will be inducted into Wigan's Hall of Fame before tomorrow night's match against Warrington at the JJB Stadium. Bell is leaving the club to work for Auckland's New Zealand Warriors after 15 years as a player and head of youth development. There are only 4,500 tickets still available for the match.