Rugby union champions Leicester Tigers are to forge close links with leading rugby league club Bradford Bulls.

The rugby giants decided to work together after officials from both clubs held a brainstorming meeting on coaching and administrative issues.

Bradford chief executive Abi Ekoku said: ``There is a lot of synergy between the clubs and both codes and we share a lot of common ground.

``Following our meeting I can see an exciting immediate future for the two organisations.''

Tigers manager Dean Richards, the former England forward, has been a regular at Super League matches this season and Leicester have been keen to stage more matches following the successful `Roadshow' match at Welford Road last year.

The clubs have the best support of each code, with Bradford averaging more than 14,000 at Odsal this year and Leicester consistently attracting five-figure crowds.

``Although they are two distinct codes we discovered we have a lot in common,'' said Leicester managing director David Clayton.

``We discussed a wide range of issues from marketing and commercial activities to player training schedules and nutrition and ways we could share experiences in those areas.''

The arrangement is unlikely to lead to player exchanges because of the already congested seasons in both codes and Leicester are not considering applying for a Super League franchise.

``We're not looking at that possibility at present,'' said Clayton. ``Whether that's something for the future we'll have to wait and see.''

The Leicester club had their appetite for Super League whetted in July 1999 when a crowd of 8,233 turned out on a Wednesday night for a fixture between London Broncos and the Bulls.

``That was well received and, if we can repeat that, it would be great because we are looking at utilising the facilities 12 months a year,'' added Clayton.

``We've told Super League that we'd be really interested in staging another Super League game down here because our fans responded positively to it. It brought them a different ball game and the Tigers fans appreciated it very much.''