Wigan have given up hope of their controversial new Australian scrum-half Tim Smith making his debut against the Super League leaders Leeds on Friday, and conceded that he may not even be available for the visit of St Helens on July 18.
"He's got his work permit but he's still waiting for his visa from the Australian authorities, and the latest date we've been given is July 15," said Wigan's chairman Ian Lenagan today. "There is nothing untoward about it but apparently it's a busy time. It's unfortunate with these big games against Leeds and St Helens coming up but that's the way of the world, and we've got to get on with it."
Smith retired at the age of 23 earlier this year after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder following a number of alcohol-related incidents, but Lenagan is confident that he will still make an impact this season. "It's only a few months since he last played and he's training over in Brisbane at the moment getting as fit as he possibly can, so we're not expecting him to take long to slot in," he said. "It's the right time of the season to be getting a lift and with Tommy Leuluai playing well and Trent Barrett with us until the end of the year, we should have some good options."
Wigan announced today that their 21-year-old Ireland prop Eamon O'Carroll has signed a new three-year contract with the club, but they will be well below strength for the Leeds game with Pat Richards, Phil Bailey and Sean O'Loughlin all ruled out.
Harlequins have signed Smith's former Parramatta team-mate Chad Robinson on a two-year deal, although their coach Brian McDermott concedes that he will be no replacement for Scott Hill, the former Kangaroo tourist who will be retiring with Henry Paul at the end of the year.
"Scott's got a very particular game which is hard to replace and although we are looking for someone else to fill a half-back role, it's more likely that we'll look to someone already at the club to take over from Hilly - probably Rob Purdham, who plays very like him in several ways," said McDermott, who hopes that Purdham will return from his hamstring injury in Saturday's home game against St Helens.
Saints have a doubt over their scrum-half Sean Long, who suffered a dead leg in Sunday's thrashing of Huddersfield, while Lee Gilmour will not travel to London unless his expectant partner has given birth before Friday. However Leon Pryce will definitely return after resting the thigh injury he took into last Friday's France-England international in Toulouse, and Chris Flannery is also back in contention after a knee ligament problem.
Copyright 2008 guardian.co.uk
