Leon Pryce has never been afraid to speak his mind.

After leaving the Bulls for Saints last year, Pryce infamously claimed much of Bradford's remarkable winning run to Grand Final success was down to the insights of then assistant Steve McNamara.

That didn't go down well with head coach Brian Noble. Amid the safety of Knowsley Road, it could have been seen as sour grapes or a cheap dig at his former boss for not playing him in his favoured No 6 role while with the Bulls.

The parting shot would have no recriminations as he is now in situ at Saints. However, bearing in mind Noble is also Pryce's boss at Great Britain, he was still playing with fire.

It is a sign of the player's class and value though that there was never any chance Noble would ditch him from his international plans on the back of such a barbed comment.

That is why the silky back is currently Down Under with the Lions preparing for the Kangaroos on Saturday - where he is speaking his mind again!

Pryce, one of the beaten tourists' more dangerous players in last week's Kiwi loss, isn't ingratiating himself to the locals there, having launched a scathing attack on all things Aussie.

And those locals have typically come back fighting as a huge war of words erupts on the other side of the world.

"It's not all it's made out to be," Pryce wrote on a website after arriving in Sydney.

"All the Aussies come over and say how good it is but I'd much rather be back in Bradford. I'd rather be on Blackpool beach than Bondi beach.

"They can keep the country to themselves. I'd be tempted to come and play here, because it's the best competition, but I think we have seen a different side to the way people are. I'm happy with my life back home. I've nothing to prove down here."

Pryce added: "I don't think they (Aussies) have much respect for us at all, as people as well as players. I don't think they really like the English.

"I never really understood it until we got down here. We don't really care but they don't seem to be keen on us. They keep going on about Pommies this and Pommies that but we just get on with it.

"We're not really bothered. We're not really fazed by what they say."

The player's outspoken comments have prompted the expected robust response from his hosts, while his home city of Bradford - Pryce still lives in Queensbury - has come in for considerable stick as riled commentators look to defend Australia's name.

Former Kangaroos Test centre Terry Hill fired: "On a scale of one to ten, if ten is best, Blackpool beach is minus ten and Bradford is a dump. It's the closet thing you'll find to Tempe tip.

"In Bradford during the '94 Roo tour, they told us not to walk home without a gun after 9pm.

"If Leon doesn't like it here, I'll fly him back to England myself. It would be economy class though, not sure Leon would know much about first class."

Now, now ladies!

Just to fill you in, Tempe tip is an unpleasant, drug-fuelled rubbish dump in a poor area of inner west Sydney (in case anything has been lost in translation!) You can predict the headlines - "Whingeing Pom" - during the spectacular fall-out, and you can equally expect Pryce might just get some extra attention from the Aussie Stadium crowd come Saturday.

But one thing is for sure, as the build-up to the Lions' Tri-Nations clash with their old foes reaches a crescendo, life is always interesting with Leon Pryce around.

And another thing, although not quite for sure; there may be a double meaning behind his comment about much rather being in Bradford - rumour has it that Pryce may make a return to Odsal in 2008.

Most Bulls fans would love to see him back. First though, he's just got to survive this Saturday and the wrath of some miffed Pommie-bashers.

But being the man for the big occasion, don't put it past him to have the final word.