About our Whitehaven RLFC news
Latest news on Whitehaven RLFC, also known as Whitehaven R.L.F.C., Whitehaven Rugby League Football Club, Haven and the Marras, with coverage of team news, fixtures, results, signings, head coach updates, Championship and League One action, the Recreation Ground (the Recre) and the Cumbrian derby with Workington Town.
Whitehaven Rugby League Football Club is a professional side from the Cumbrian coast, formed in 1948 and known to supporters as Haven or the Marras, a local word for mates. The club has competed in both the Championship and League One, winning the Championship Leaders' Shield in 2005 and the League One title in 2019.
Matchday news centres on the Recreation Ground, known locally as the Recre and also branded as Ortus Rec. Fans follow squad changes, new signings, injuries, coaching appointments and weekly results, as well as the club's fortunes in the Challenge Cup. The fixture against Workington Town remains the highlight of the Cumbrian calendar.
The club's challenges are well known. Promotion and relegation between divisions, tight budgets, ground investment and the question of Super League ambitions all shape debate around Whitehaven. A narrow defeat to Leigh in the 2004 National League One final showed how close the club once came to the top flight.
Haven is a community club in every sense. Born from the Miners' Welfare tradition, it draws support from Whitehaven, Copeland and wider west Cumbria, with local sponsors and loyal away followings. Stories about players who came through the ranks and long-serving heroes such as John McKeown, Dick Huddart and Mick Nanyn are part of its identity.
Rugby league has deep roots here. The Recre staged a record crowd of 18,650 for a 1960 Challenge Cup tie against Wakefield Trinity, and the club reached the Challenge Cup semi-final in 1956. It was known as Whitehaven Warriors between 1997 and 2003, before reverting to its traditional name.
The NewsNow Whitehaven RLFC feed gathers the latest headlines on Haven team news, fixtures, results, transfers, coaching changes and Recreation Ground developments from reliable sources, so you can follow the Marras all season.