YORK Wasps winger Matt Mulholland has been released by the club by mutual consent.

The Rotherham-based 20-year-old had been on a two-year deal at Huntington Stadium but the distance he has had to travel to training, coupled with the fact he has fallen down the first-team pecking order, became too much of a hindrance. New work commitments mean he has to regularly travel to London as well.

The Wasps have not retained his registration and he is now likely to re-sign for local amateur club Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks.

Wasps coach Leo Epifania said: "He's got a long way to go for training and he's not getting a run in the first team and so, although I did not want him to leave the club, we came to an agreement to let him go.

"We've got a few new wingers at the club, like Craig Moore and Michael Forbes, and Ben Sorbello had a run-out on the wing last time, and maybe Matt would have been the first to admit he did not go crash-hot in his few games this season.

"Maybe he felt there were too many players in front of him and the travelling to training when you're not playing on the weekend makes it harder."

Mulholland had made his debut at the end of the 1999-2000 season, featuring three times that term, and it was thought his potential, plus his utility value, would be a good asset for the club. He played 22 times last season, sticking with the club throughout its troubles, but has only played four times this season.

His only try for the Wasps came in the 21-4 defeat of Gateshead in February last year, the Wasps' last league win.

Epifania was waiting to check on the fitness of prop Andy Precious (leg) and centre Rob Lee (ankle), who were both unable to train last week.

Updated: 12:16 Tuesday, February 19, 2002