Whitehaven RLFC
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| Whitehaven | |
| Full name | Whitehaven Rugby League Football Club |
| Emblem | Club crest |
| Colours | Chocolate,Blue and Gold |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Sport | Rugby league |
| League | National League One |
| Ground | Recreation Ground |
| Official website | www.whitehavenrl.co.uk |
Whitehaven RLFC is a rugby league team playing in Whitehaven in West Cumbria. They play in National League one. Their stadium is called the Recreation Ground (known locally as the Recre). Their mascot is a lion called "Pride".
Their nicknames are 'Haven' or the 'marras' (a local dialect word for 'mate').
Their local rivals are Workington Town.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Foundation
Rugby league in Cumbria can trace its roots back over 100 years to the formation of the Northern Union. Whitehaven had its own team, Whitehaven Recreation, which competed in the Challenge Cup in the first decade of the 20th Century
Whitehaven RLFC was formed in 1948 and shortly afterwards were admitted into the Rugby Football League by just three votes. In their first game Haven beat Hull 5-0. There was a "disappointing" turnout of only 9,000 because of the pouring rain; in those days the Supporters Club had 4,000 members. The early Whitehaven team were nicknamed the Colliers as the Recreation Ground was owned by the Miners Welfare organisation.
In a Britain that still was still recovering from wartime rationing and austerity Whitehaven gradually picked itself up. In 1951 the first of a long line of players from Australasia joined Haven as Neville Emery became player-coach. Under his guidance the club built a team that could compete with the best.
On Saturday 20 Oct 1956, Whitehaven defeated the Australian tourists 14-11 before a crowd of 10,917 at the Recreation ground. Later that season the club came within minutes of a Wembley appearance when they lost 10-9 to Leeds in a Challenge Cup semi-final before a 50,000 crowd at the Odsal Stadium, featuring players such as the legendary Dick Huddart and full back John McKeown. The end of that season saw Emery return home to be replaced by Eppie Gibson, who re-built the team, and in 1959-60 the club finished 6th in the league their highest ever position.
[edit] Sixties and onwards
The club's record attendance was set in 1960 when 18,500 spectators turned up for a third round Challenge Cup game against Wakefield.
The 1960s were a period of decline as the club struggled on the field, though in 1965 the club defeated the touring New Zealanders 12-5. It wasn’t until 1970 that the club emerged from this lean spell. Under the coaching of Sol Roper they topped the league table for part of the 1969/70 season. Once again the club defeated the game's top clubs like St Helens, Wigan and Bradford Northern at the Recreation Ground. The club progressed over the next few years and in 1973 acquired floodlights.
However success was once again denied at the last hurdle as the club suffered semi-final defeats in both the Lancashire Cup and the John Player cup. Two promotions to the top division came in 1980s and during this period the club produced a batch of internationals in scrum half Arnold Boxer Walker, forward Vince Fox and centre Vince Gribbin. By the end of the 1980s the club found itself back in Division two.
Whitehaven RLFC faced a financial crisis in 1992. Eleven local businessmen, Copeland Council and Albright & Wilson joined forces to form Whitehaven 1992 Ltd, the holding company which owns 70 per cent of the shares.[1]
[edit] Summer era
When the Super League was proposed Whitehaven were supposed to merge with Barrow, Carlisle and Workington to form a Cumbria club that would take part in Super League. This was successfully resisted.
Whitehaven Warriors ended 1996 one place above the relegation positions. The appointment of Kiwi coaches Kurt Sorensen and Stan Martin brought about a revival at the club with Haven finishing 3rd in Division one in 1997 and reaching the play-off semi-finals only to lose to Hull Sharks.
The merger issue resurfaced in 2000, Whitehaven were so heavily in debt that a merger with Workington seemed the only means of survival.[2] However, the board of Directors rejected a merger proposal with Workington and then resigned en masse.[3]
Paul Cullen arrived as coach from Warrington in September 2000 taking over from Kevin Tamati. This heralded upward progression for Whitehaven. The club made steady progress and earned a place in National League 1 for 2003. He left in August 2002 to manage Warrington and was replaced by Steve McCormack.
In 2004 they were undefeated at home in the league and made it to the semi final of the Arriva Trains cup losing to the eventual winners Leigh. They also narrowly lost out on promotion to Super League after losing 32-16 in extra time to Leigh Centurions in the NL1 grand final.
The following year despite Castleford Tigers being red hot favourites for promotion Whitehaven managed to win their first piece of silverware when the took the National League One League Leaders trophy, however they were unable to take this success into the Grand Final, where they were heavily beaten by the Castleford side.
Steve McCormack left to manage Widnes Vikings and was replaced by Dave Rotheram.
In 2006 in Dave Rotherams first season in charge, they finished 4th and reached the National League 1 playoffs, only to be beaten by Steve McCormack's Widnes Vikings in a hard fought semi-final by 24 points to 20. they were knocked out of the Northern Rail Cup at the quarter final stage by Hull KR who would eventually be promoted to The Engage Super League that season.
In late 2006 they became the first ever winners of the pre-season Ike Southward Trophy, beating neighbours Workington Town 18-6 at The Recreation Ground. Haven made it to the final of the Northern Rail Cup for the first time in 2007 but lost 54-6 to Widnes Vikings.[4]
[edit] Club Records
Highest Score : 86-6 vs Highfield 1995
Heaviest Defeat : 106-4 vs Wigan 2008
Record Attendance : 18,650, vs Wakefield 1960
Tries in a Career : 248 David Seeds 1993 - 2007
Tries in a Season : 34 Mick Pechey 1994-95
Tries in a Match : 6 Vince Gribbin vs Doncaster 18th November 1984
Goals in a Career : 1050 John McKeown 1946-61
Goals in a Season : 141 John McKeown 1956-57
Goals in a Match : 13 Lee Anderson v Highfield 25th January 1995
Points in a Career : 2,133 John McKeown 1948 -1961
Points in a Season : 400 Mick Nanyn 2004
Points in a Match : 32 Mick Nanyn vs Batley 22nd August 2004
Appearances in a Career : 417 John McKeown 1948-61
Appearances in a Season : 42 John McKeown in 1956/7
Consecutive Appearances : 72 David Fatialofa 02/06/1996 to 19/07/1998
[edit] Haven Immortals (Hall of Fame)
1. Mckeown
2. Smith
3. Gribbin
4. Gibson
5. Lowden
6. Kitchin
7. Walker
8. Mcalone
9. Lester
10. Tembey
11. Holliday
12. Huddart
13. Cottier
14. Garratt
15. Robinson
16. Watson
17. Moore
[edit] 2008 Squad
-
For more details on this topic, see Whitehaven RLFC 2007.
| No | Nat | Player | Position | Former Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Gary Broadbent(C) | Fullback | Salford City Reds |
| 2 | |
Craig Calvert | Wing | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 3 | |
Scott McAvoy | Centre | Hensingham |
| 4 | |
Derry Eilbeck | Centre | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 5 | |
Ade Adebisi | Winger | Featherstone Rovers |
| 6 | |
Carl Rudd | Stand off | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 7 |  |
Leroy Joe | Scrum Half | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 8 | |
Karl Edmonson | Prop | Waitiki Warriors |
| 9 | |
Graeme Mattinson | Hooker | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 10 |  |
David Fatialofa | Prop | Palu |
| 11 | |
Howard Hill | Second Row | Swinton Lions |
| 12 |  |
Saia Makisi | Second Row | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 13 |  |
Spencer Miller | Loose Forward | Kells |
| 14 | |
Carl Sice | Hooker | Workington |
| 15 | |
Scott Teare | Prop | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 18 | |
Rob Jackson | Centre | Leigh Centurions |
| 20 | |
Marc Jackson | Prop | Wath Brow Hornets |
| 21 | |
John Lebbon | Winger | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 22 | |
Mark Bainbridge | Half Back | Hensingham RLFC |
| 23 | |
Danny Barker | Loose Forward | Maryport RLFC |
| 24 | |
Ryan McDonald | Prop | York City Knights |
| 25 | |
Gary Johnstone | Hooker | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 26 | |
David Ford | Prop | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 27 | |
Craig Hodgson | Loose Forward | Hensingham RLFC |
| 28 | |
Stephen Fox | Centre | Hensingham RLFC |
| 29 | |
Shaun Flanagan | Second Row | Kells RLFC |
| 30 | |
Mark Haycock | Second Row | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 31 | |
Craig Benson | Full Back | Kells RLFC |
| 32 | |
Richard Farrer | Prop | Egremont Rangers RLFC |
| 33 | |
Gregg McNally | Scrum-half | Kells ARLFC |
| 34 | |
Tane Manihera | Stand-off | Whitehaven RLFC |
| 35 | |
Andy Gorski | Second Row | Halifax RLFC |
| 36 |  |
Martin Gambles | Scrum Half | Blackpool Panthers |
| 37 | |
Chris Smith | Hooker | Kells ARLFC |
[edit] Club Honours
- National League One Winners 2005
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Alternative site
- Yahoo supporters group
- Whitehaven RLFC forum on rlfans.com
- National League website
- Whitehaven RLFC Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
- All about the town of Whitehaven
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