WORCESTER Rugby Club have sensationally pulled out of a deal to bring Niki Little to Sixways, leaving the way open for Dax to move in.

The French club jumped ahead of the queue last night in the race to capture the Fijian fly-half and a deal is expected to be concluded today.

Worcester decided to end talks yesterday after Little's financial demands and fears the player was too similar to former Sixways stand-off Earl Va'a who was released last month.

Va'a was considered too erratic by Worcester's management for a vital season ahead and it was feared that Little, who lost his first-team spot at Sale Sharks last season, would not become a success at Sixways.

There was also the added problem of fitting another non-European Union player into the squad after already bringing Winston Stanley to Worcester.

Alistair Murdoch, who is hoping to gain British citizenship this summer, and Greg Meredith are the other two players who require work permits.

Worcester are only allowed two non-EU players in a match-day squad and would have to continue to rotate the stars to keep them happy.

The National One club will now turn their attention to former British Lion Craig Chalmers who was released by Glasgow Caledonians following a successful loan spell at Harlequins last season.

The 32-year-old has already held talks with Cecil Duckworth's big spending club and is expected to make a decision on the move in the next 24 hours.

Former Bedford full-back Ben Hinshelwood has also signed a contract at Sixways, and he has been joined by lock forwards Lee Soper and Martin Morgan.

Soper has represented the Army and British Forces, while Morgan joins from Cardiff.

Worcester want their squad finalised before the players and coaching staff return for pre-season training on Monday as they look to build team spirit with their 15 new signings.

Chairman Duckworth said: "We are hoping to have a decision today on the fly-half situation but we will not be following up our interest in Niki Little.

"Craig Chalmers is our first choice because he is proven at the top level and also as he is British. We wanted to bring in a British player to keep the balance of the squad right.

"We could have concluded a deal to bring Niki to the club but it was just felt that Craig offered us more and would perform consistently week in, week out."