Whitehaven snap up Newcastle duo

Whitehaven have signed forward duo Liam McAvoy and Kieran Hudson from Championship rivals Newcastle for the 2022 season.

With Newcastle becoming a full-time club in the Championship next season, Whitehaven say they wasted no time in securing their signatures for 2022.

Whitehaven coach Jonty Gorley said: “I’ve tried to get Liam here since I came to Whitehaven in 2018. That’s how much I rate Liam.

“Every team needs a Liam McAvoy because as a front-rower or a middle, he is what it says on the tin. He does a lot of work, has a good engine on him with a bit of skill as well as carrying well. He has a bit of grunt which we have lacked at times. I’m hoping he’s going to be at the front of everything that we do with our middles. It’s great to have him on board.

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“Kieran is a young lad who started playing his rugby on the wing and is now a front-rower. He’ll have a bit of pace about him and he’s 6ft 4in and a bit of weight about him. Liam has told us about him, about what he can do, and I’ve seen his clips. He played against us last season and at Batley and if you can go to those places and hold your own as a kid it shows you’ve got something. He has loads of potential has Kieran and hopefully we’ll get to see more of that.”

Whitehaven fight off other clubs to retain overseas duo

Whitehaven’s overseas duo Ryan King and Nikau Williams have penned new deals for the 2022 season.

King, 24, was named in Italy’s train-on squad for the subsequently postponed 2021 World Cup.

Both he and scrum-half Williams were crucial parts of Gary Charlton’s squad that reached the Championship play-offs with 11 wins in their last 13 games.