Wigan bid to speed up Farrell code decision

Rugby league side Wigan have brought forward a medical examination in a bid to speed up a decision on the future of captain Andy Farrell.

The Great Britain forward, out of action until mid-May with a knee injury, is wanted by England for the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup and has been in talks with several Zurich Premiership clubs about a switch of codes.

Wigan owner Dave Whelan yesterday gave the Rugby Football Union until the end of the week to complete the deal or signal the end of their interest and today chairman Maurice Lindsay said they agreed to an early medical in a bid to bring the long-running saga to a head.

“Andy has spoken to the various Zurich Premiership clubs interested in him but there has been no pressure from us because of the knee injury which is likely to keep him out until mid-May,” said Lindsay.

“However, we did say to the RFU that we needed a decision to remove the uncertainty in our minds and in our fans’ minds and so have agreed to bring the medical test forward. That is taking place today.

“We shall only be aware of matters once Andrew has had that medical but whichever RU club is involved also needs to determine its position.”

Meanwhile, Bradford have confirmed they have opened talks with New Zealand Test winger Lesley Vainikolo over a new contract amid reports Gloucester have made him an offer to switch codes.