Fierce Baptism Faces New Leeds Coach Mcclennan

Brian McClennan will face a tough start to his new job as the Leeds coach, as the Super League champions will have to launch the defense of their title within a week of playing South Sydney in Jacksonville.

The Rugby Football League confirmed yesterday that the Rhinos will kick off the 2008 season with a standalone fixture on the weekend of February 2-3 to clear space for their World Club Challenge against the National Rugby League champions Melbourne Storm later in the month, probably on February 22 at Headingley or Elland Road.

But in addition to meaning that McClennan will face two of Australia's top eight clubs in his first five matches in charge, that will leave the Leeds players with less than a week to recover from their pioneering pre-season fixture in Florida and reacclimatise for their first Super League game in the British winter. "It's a tough start, but if that's the price of success we're happy to pay it," said the Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington.

The Old Trafford grand final has been brought forward to October 3 to allow McClennan's Leeds predecessor Tony Smith more time to prepare the England team for their first World Cup game, against Papua New Guinea in Towns ville on October 25.

Hetherington also dismissed reports that Leeds are about to strengthen their squad for next season by signing the Widnes loose forward Bob Beswick. "I think that's coming from people associated with the player, not from us," he said. "We've already got our full 25-man squad contracted for next season."

Leeds discovered yesterday that they will again play Bradford during the Millennium Magic weekend next May, giving the Bulls the chance to take revenge for their bitter defeat in the last match of Super League's successful first invasion of Cardiff earlier this year. Three of the other fixtures have also been retained but Castleford's promotion means that they will now play Wakefield, leaving Warrington to face Huddersfield.

Lance Hohaia, who has been recommend to the Catalans Dragons by Stacey Jones to fill the void left at scrum-half by his recent retirement, has been given a late call-up to the New Zealand squad who arrive in London today ahead of their three-Test series against Great Britain.