Former Odsal playing favourite Darrall Shelford has joined the Bradford Bulls coaching staff on a full-time basis.

The Kiwi teams up with Brian Noble as assistant to head coach Matthew Elliott following Mick Potter's decision to return home to Australia for family reasons at the end of last season.

Shelford, 37, took on extra responsibilities with the first team last season after roles with the academy side and as chief development officer.

Elliott said: "Darrall is an excellent addition to the coaching team and will now be able to devote his attentions fully in that area.

"A big advantage is that he knows the system we work in and is a big believer in it. He will also bring his own style to the job and has the ability to make a big success of it."

Shelford, who represented the New Zealand Maoris and had trials with the All Blacks as a centre, arrived at Odsal in the summer of 1990 and enjoyed four highly successful seasons before departing for Huddersfield.

But he returned to Odsal in 1997 as Academy coach and has been a pivotal member of the award winning Bulls development team.

One of his first tasks in his new role will be to accompany Elliott, Noble and conditioning coach Carl Jennings today on a week-long fact finding mission to American Football giants Denver Broncos.

Elliott and his staff studied coaching and training methods at the Philadelphia Eagles two years ago but says this trip will be even more beneficial.

"The visit has been arranged through nutritional suppliers EAS who act as advisors to both the Bulls and the Broncos.

"It will give us much greater access than we had with the Eagles and I am sure it will prove very worthwhile."

Meanwhile the 12th Rugby League World Cup kicks off today in the unlikely setting of Disney World in Florida.

The United States, one of six teams bidding to claim the 16th place for the 2000 Lincoln Financial Group World Cup, will take on Japan at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Orlando.

Canada are the other side competing for the North Pacific Cup, whose winners will take on the top team from the Mediterranean group involving Morocco, Italy and Lebanon in the play-off final in Orlando on Sunday, November 21.

France, who are among the 15 nations already in the hat for the World Cup, are also competing in the Mediterranean Cup, which gets under way on Thursday when Italy take on Lebanon.

The United States, who took part in the Emerging Nations competition which ran alongside the 1995 World Cup, are favourites to qualify from the Pacific group.

They are led by David Niu, who played for America in the recent Rugby World Cup, and include three Super League players in Vila Matautia and Julian O'Neill (St Helens) and Joe Faimalo (Salford) in addition to Marcus Vassilakopoulos (Hunslet).

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.