Bulls duo Tevita Vaikona and Lesley Vainikolo will be going for gold at the Commonwealth Games this summer - in rugby union - after their shock inclusion in the Tongan Rugby Sevens squad.

Vaikona, the Super League's leading try-scorer, has been drafted in as a late replacement for the event, where he could face former team-mate Henry Paul.

The 27-year-old's call-up follows England's selection of Leeds Rhinos full back Marcus St Hilaire and Salford winger Neil Baxter.

Vaikona, who has scored 15 Super League tries this season, was vice-captain of the 2000 Tongan squad for the rugby league World Cup.

Tongan-born Lesley Vainikolo, who scored a hat-trick for New Zealand in the last World Cup, is a former sprint champion and his rampaging style of play is ideally suited to the shortened version of the game.

The competition runs for three days from Friday, August 2 to Sunday, August 4, but the Bulls would have first call on the duo for the revenge Super League clash with Leeds on the Friday night.

A spokesman for the club said: "If the coaching staff are happy to release the players then we have no problem with their inclusion.

"But we do have the right to keep them if we need to cover injury concerns or any other reasons."