JOHN Kear will welcome the World Cup nines as a distraction from the ongoing turmoil at the Bulls.

Kear flew out with his Wales squad on Sunday night for Australia where the two-day tournament takes place at the weekend.

The experienced coach is still waiting to see what will happen with the Bulls as Chris Brereton’s consortium close in on taking ownership.

Brereton worked with him previously at Wakefield and is keen to keep him on board for what will be a challenging 2020 season in the Championship.

But it is a tough position for Kear who had earmarked a real promotion push as part of the three-year plan he laid out when taking the job at Odsal in December 2017.

Instead, it is already shaping up to be a fight to beat the drop because of the financial squeeze that will be placed on recruitment as he faces the prospect of losing more senior players.

Kear has deliberately kept a low profile while the negotiations go on for Brereton to take on the club shares from chairman Andrew Chalmers.

But he will understandably be concerned about the sudden turn of events after the Bulls just missed out on the play-offs by one point in their first season back in the second tier.

The international competition in Sydney will provide a timely diversion for Kear, in his dual role as Wales coach, and the three Bradford players in the Welsh set-up, Rhys Evans, Dalton Grant and young half-back Cobi Green.

Wales play their first game against England at the Parramatta Stadium on Friday morning. Their group also includes France and Lebanon.