Four years of bitter legal wrangling finally ended when Bradford Bulls reached an undisclosed six-figure settlement with Leeds Rhinos over their controversial £1million acquisition of Iestyn Harris, the former Leeds captain, from Cardiff Blues rugby union club in 2004.

The out-of-court agreement covers Harris's transfer fee to Bradford and costs in the protracted case, a sum described as “satisfactory” by Leeds, for whom Harris played from 1997 to 2001 before he switched codes in a deal with the Welsh Rugby Union and Cardiff.

Part of that agreement was that Leeds would have first option on Harris if he returned to league, which was upheld by a High Court ruling in 2006. Bradford insisted at the time of Harris's signing that it was above board and did not contravene any agreement. His move prompted Leeds to instigate legal proceedings that concluded yesterday with an admission by Bradford that they had been in the wrong.

A club statement said: “Bradford now accept that, although when they signed Mr Harris they believed that they were free to sign him and acted in good faith in doing so, they now appreciate that in fact Mr Harris was committed to sign for Leeds at the time and apologise to Leeds for doing so. Bradford have also agreed to pay Leeds appropriate compensation and costs.”

Bradford also apologised for comments made by Peter Hood, the club's chairman, at a Bradford fans' forum in January, when he claimed that Leeds were suing the Bulls for £3.2million, a sum that Hood had said could drive the club to bankruptcy. Bradford added in their statement that Hood's comments were “not intended to give the impression that Leeds's claims against Harris and Bradford were motivated by anything other than the protection of Leeds's interests”.

Gary Hetherington, the Leeds chief executive, said: “Naturally, we are pleased with the outcome and the fact that the matter is now settled.”

Harris's contract at Bradford expires at the end of this season, when the 31-year-old former dual code Wales player is expected to retire or play a final season for Celtic Crusaders, if the Bridgend-based club's application for a three-year Super League licence from 2009 proves successful.

World Cup organisers claimed on the eve of today's centenary international between Australia and New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground, 100 years to the day since the countries first played each other, that the ten-team tournament in Australia, from October 25 to November 22, is assured of being a commercial success. Television deals mean that the tournament will be screened in the United States, Spain, the Middle East, North Africa, Israel and the Far East, in addition to the competing nations.