Wigan Warriors chairman Maurice Lindsay doubts whether rugby union can keep funding the poaching of players from rugby league.

Jason Robinson was lured to the 15-man code at Sale with a lucrative £1million contract and proved an instant hit with both England and subsequently the Lions in Australia.

And Bradford Bulls' New Zealand international Henry Paul officially makes the switch from League to Union today with Gloucester set to parade him at a London press conference.

But Lindsay, who oversaw the introduction of Super League five years ago when the game switched to summer and struck a broadcasting deal with Sky, believes union could struggle financially to absorb the wages of their poached stars.

Lindsay told The Daily Mail: ``It's all very well to be offering contracts up to £1million to tempt league players to switch codes, but union will then need the cash to support the spiralling wage system, because the deals are going to force up the pay at clubs like Gloucester.

``They may be able to sustain it in the short term, but when clubs find they have to cover wage bills of £3million-£4million a year, they could find themselves back in a serious financial situation again.''

Great Britain full-back Kris Radlinski is believed to be the next target for a switch to union.

The current situation is the reverse of some 15 years ago, when several high-profile union players, such as Welshman Jonathan Davis, became full-time professionals with rugby league.

``If it comes to money, we've got (Wigan owner) Dave Whelan's millions, but the question is: can union carry one picking off the best of our code's players? I don't believe they can,'' added Lindsay.

Lindsay, who has held executive positions with both the Rugby League and Super League, also dismissed suggestions made by Leicester supremo Peter Wheeler that a number of top league clubs were considering switching codes.

He said: ``If union wanted to go for the throat, they could try to persuade two or three senior clubs to switch codes. Despite Peter Wheeler's comments, we've had no approach and I know of no others - but they won't diminish our game by taking selected players.''

However, this morning on BBS Breakfast when asked if he envisaged a Wigan Rugby Union Football Club in the future he refused to rule it out saying you never know what might happen in the future.

League fans will be wondering whether this means the club would consider a switch of codes or setting up a union side to run alongside its league squad, like at Leeds.

Meanwhile, Rugby Football Union chief executive Francis Barron, who yesterday presided over a new deal to end the internal feud between union clubs, insisted: ``We don't want a turf war with rugby league.

``It's a free market and if they (players) want to try rugby union, we have to put a together package to help them make the transfer.''