looks like we played the Dragons at the right time as Greg Bird appears to be signing a short term deal with a option.
This appears to be with the blessing of the Bulls who may be looking at a yet unnamed target to take his place in this years squad.
allegedly haveing a french visa and work permit allows him entry to the uk to ply his trade.Back door entry or what.

if he signs for cats its a disgrace this gives them an unfair advantage surely there in the same league as us so the same rules should apply!!!!!

Agreed, it stinks.

Doesnt stink as bad as French Rugby Union. They play in the heineken cup v English, irish, welsh and scottish teams, and all have a salary cap other than the French. Its always the french!!

Cant blame the Dragons.
They are doing everything by the book and able to offer these players contracts where our immigration laws dictate English clubs cant !

Unless I'm missing something big (which is quite possible

) Bird should not be allowed into the UK for the same reasons as he was refused for Bradford. If he doesn't declare the refusal when he arrives, he risks a long ban from entering the UK.

If I was Bradford and he enters the UK to play, I would be kicking off big style, not giving the whole thing my "blessing".

Seems utterly ridiculous to me.

Maybe bradford have given their blessing and are hoping he then recieves a lengthy ban for entering the Uk?

There are 3 big ifs in there



Hood added: "If Greg is granted a French visa and if the RFL does accept a Catalans request to register him and if the UK Border Agency let him in, it will be proof positive of his ability to unlock the tightest of defences, both on the field and off it."

But has he the bottle* to smash* his way through.


*allegedly

have just had confirmation from the rfl that he has been allowed to sign for cats..how can this be allowed....were does this leave the crocker and eastwood situations...will they be tempted to french shores?..of the 14 teams in sl only one can sign these players..not very fair me thinks

Crocker is still contracted to Hull FC at this moment in time, so no.

Lets hope the ports/airports are well staffed by HMRC & Immigration when the cats arrive in the UK!

there was an article in one of the RL papers yesterday that seemed to imply he could enter the country for 48 hours without a visa. Sounds odd. I'll see if I can find the article.

Who's to say he'll definately get a French visa? Surely the fact that he's been denied enrty into our country, won't go down well with the French...

ta muchly

[urlhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hYAdDWiOaVqZcVWMqbSBFecnptYg[/url

The Rugby Football League have cleared the way for controversial Australian Test player Greg Bird to join Catalans Dragons.

The Perpignan club swooped for the 25-year-old Bird when his move to Bradford collapsed because he was refused a visa by the British High Commission.

Although he signed a 12-month contract with the Bulls, with an additional two-year option, Bradford were unable to lodge his registration and, therefore, Bird was free to move elsewhere. The Catalans are thought to have secured the necessary paperwork from the French authorities and have been given the go-ahead by the Rugby Football League to complete the deal.

A statement from Red Hall said: "The RFL has indicated that we would accept Greg Bird's registration as a Catalans Dragons player providing all the necessary paperwork is completed by the club."

Bird, who was released by Cronulla in January, found himself in limbo when he was denied a visa because of a pending court case in Sydney.

The player and his manager Chris Orr flew to the south of France last week for a tour of the Catalans club's facilities and to meet with president Bernard Guasch and coach Kevin Walters.

He is thought to have agreed a nine-month contract with the Dragons and could make his Super League debut for them in Saturday's home game against Castleford.

However, Bird may yet find difficulty playing in England. Although the UK Borders Agency have no objection to him playing in France, they say it will be up to individual immigration officers at UK airports to decide whether he is allowed entry into this country.
The Dragons are next due to visit to England for a match at Wakefield on Sunday, March 15.

Could be wrong but the French are pretty relaxed with issuing their visa's etc are they not?

Either way i think it's pretty poor on the RFL's part for allowing this. That said (similar to the cup/ Thackeray affair last year) is there a bye law or rule in existance to stop this type of signing happening? I guess not.

Therefore i assume if the RFL decided against allowing Bird to play for the Cat's they would have some sort of grounds to appeal or the RFL had no choice but to agree.

He could maybe visit the UK along with his team mates but surely he'd only be able to be a speccy and be unable to ply his trade as this would be in conflict with his visa application to work in this country????

In this case the permission to enter is entirely unrelated to what he does while he's here.

is he being paid?

hope not

My guess is the same would apply to Crocker, though I expect he'd stay in aussie if his visa falls through.

Yes but he would not be getting paid by a company in this country!

The league should pass some legislation quick to prevent players that have been unable to complete their signings for Super League clubs in one country being able to play for Super league clubs in another!

i couldnt agree more my friend