JIMMY Lowes will quite literally send a number of his players to Coventry this season as the Bulls embark on a dual-registration partnership with the new Championship One side.

Founded in 1998, Coventry Bears were crowned RLC Western Division champions in 2000 and have since gone on to claim a host of other awards.

They were granted permission to join the National Conference League two years ago and last summer were told they would be competing in professional rugby league’s third tier in 2015.

Coventry play out of Butts Park Arena and several younger, fringe members of the Bulls squad could be sent to play there.

The two clubs will also seek to work together on a commercial basis, with Bulls managing director Steve Ferres saying: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Bears for the coming season.

“These are exciting times for both clubs and we want to help Coventry adapt to life outside of the community game.

“The club has been working extremely hard during the past two seasons, both commercially and in terms of recruitment, and we will aid that in any way we can.

“They will have access to some of our players, which will prove mutually beneficial, and we look forward to seeing how the partnership develops.”

Coventry’s managing director Alan Robinson said: “It has been fantastic for us to strike up a relationship with the Bulls, a club I have admired for many years.

“I have begun to develop a great relationship with both Steve Ferres and Marc Green off the field while Tom Tsang, our head coach, has been working with James Lowes on it.

“There is already great synergy between our clubs. This is not only a dual-registration partnership but a business one also.

“We hope to take every opportunity to grow and build our club alongside the Bulls.

“This is a new era for rugby league and I feel this sort of opportunity is a milestone in our club’s development in the sport.”