Struggling Championship club name 15-man squad for crucial league fixture
The Ortus REC, home of Whitehaven Rugby League club - Alamy
Whitehaven face the prospect of playing a massive Championship fixture which could go a long way towards deciding their survival hopes with only two interchanges on Sunday.
The Cumbrian club are in the midst of a huge crisis – on and off the field. They are facing mounting financial issues and struggled to pay their squad’s wages in July.
Head coach Jonty Gorley resigned in the aftermath of last week’s victory against Doncaster, before new coach Kyle Amor confirmed on Monday that Haven’s players had decided against fulfilling their remaining league fixtures due to undisclosed off-field issues.
However, the squad changed their mind on Thursday and agreed to head to Dewsbury to play a game which, if Haven win, could lift them out of the Championship’s relegation zone.
But they will travel to West Yorkshire with only 15 available players: meaning that even without any late injury issues, Amor can only select two interchanges for his first game as a head coach.
Haven named just 16 players for last week’s dramatic win against Doncaster which kept their survival hopes firmly alive – but Amor has been dealt an even tougher hand this week.
Amor admitted on Thursday that it had been a challenging week, but he was eager to face his first game as a head coach.
“We didn’t get everyone down there that we would have liked to have done but managed to get through and show that true Cumbrian underdog mentality of getting out there,” he said.
“We understand the enormity of the situation we’re in. We have the most difficult run-in in the Championship for those teams in and around where we are.”
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