Shontayne Hape has vowed he will join forces with his old partner Lesley Vainikolo again... at Gloucester.

Bulls fans needn't worry though. The New Zealand centre only fancies a mess around in the garden, not a switch to rugby union.

Hape said he was gutted at not being able to renew his formidable partnership with The Volcano' against Leeds on Friday night.

He is continuing to recover from a cruciate ligament operation, meaning he was only a spectator at Headingley for Vainikolo's triumphant send-off.

"It was pretty frustrating missing out on his last game in a Bulls shirt and it didn't really sink in that I wouldn't play with Les again," he said.

"On and off the field we've been through a lot together. We're sort of like brothers and always stay in contact.

"I'm going to miss him - my wife thinks we're boyfriend and girlfriend! - and for Les to leave was a sad day for us.

"He had a few words after the game and it brought a tear to my eye.

"I think I might just have to go down to Gloucester and play with him in the back yard! We'll throw the ball around a bit."

Hape had linked up with his Kiwi mate for the last five years at the Bulls, terrorising opponents with their classic pairing down the left-hand side.

"The moment that probably sticks in my memory more than any other is 2005 when me and Lesley were in and out with injuries but came back and won the Grand Final together," he said.

"When he got 36 tries in 2004 to finish top try-scorer, that was great as well. All of them are special but they are the ones you always remember - the big games."

Hape added: "I thought Les had an awesome match against Leeds and everyone just wanted to make sure we sent him off on a good note.

"All the boys pulled together and it was a great performance. We'd talked about it during the week how we owed them one because of those two late wins against us."

Meanwhile, the Bulls three-quarter, out of action since rupturing is cruciate against Catalans on March 25, visited his specialist last week and still hopes to be back before the end of the season.

"The recovery's going well and I'm about ten to 12 weeks away," Hape confirmed.

"Hopefully I'll be back for the final round of the regular Super League season."

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