Haven v Town - rugby league's great outpost derby

Workington (in blue) beat Whitehaven 10-8 in the previous league fixture on Good Friday

When we think of the great derbies in rugby league, our minds head straight for Wigan Warriors versus St Helens or Hull FC against Hull KR.

But don't tell that to fans of the game in one of its great heartlands in west Cumbria. There it is all about Whitehaven and Workington Town.

The clubs may be in League 1, rugby league's third tier, but that does not dim the passion or the bragging rights.

Those are up for grabs on Sunday as the pair meet at Whitehaven's Ortus Rec ground.

But what is it that makes this fixture so special?

Situated 10 miles apart along the west Cumbrian coast, Whitehaven and Workington are proper rugby league towns.

The nearest significant football team, Carlisle United, is an hour up the road so, in sport, it is all about the 13-player code.

Geographically isolated from the M62 corridor across the north of England that provides most of the teams, these two towns represent an area where the game has always been popular.

Formed within a few years of each other in the 1940s, they tapped into the mining communities and Workington, in particular, made a big impact.

They reached three Challenge Cup finals in seven seasons, winning it in 1952, while they were Premiership Champions the year before.

Whitehaven, too, had special moments including beating a touring Australian side in 1956 and losing in a Challenge Cup semi-final a few months later.

Workington were actually one of the 12 founding clubs of Super League in 1996, but won only two games that season in finishing bottom, were relegated, and have never returned.

Fast forward to now and both teams are in the game's third division.

Workington are third, well placed to claim one of the top-four places at the end of the season for the Super 8s to battle for three spots in the Championship for 2026 with the four lowest-placed sides in the second tier.

Whitehaven are eighth in the 10-team League 1 and will need a spectacular finish to get in the top four.

To do that, victory over their old rivals would be just the start.

It would also be revenge for the narrow 10-8 defeat in the reverse league fixture on Good Friday at Derwent Park.

'Best rivalry in rugby league'

One player who knows all about this fixture is Jamie Doran.

Born in Whitehaven, he is now in his second spell at Workington, sandwiched in between two years at his hometown club.

The 30-year-old came through the ranks at Wigan as a youngster and made his debut for them in a Super League game at home against Saints.

He has seen the biggest game at close quarters, but the sport's importance to the local area gives Sunday's match extra significance.

"Walk through both towns and you'll see Super League shirts, NRL club shirts, but you'll always see a Whitehaven or Workington top," he told BBC Sport.

"The towns are quite small and everybody knows everybody. That makes it a little bit more exciting, especially for whoever wins in the week after the derby, at work, in the streets, when you see your friends.

"Obviously both clubs are struggling a little bit now but, for me, it's the best rivalry in rugby league."

Jamie Doran was captain of Workington when they last won promotion to the Championship in 2021

With a foot in both camps, Doran would love to see both clubs do well.

Workington have spent eight of the past nine seasons in the third tier, while Haven are back at this level after five seasons in the Championship.

That is where Cumbria's other professional club, Barrow Raiders, currently sit fifth.

Hooker Doran believes all three should be aspiring to play in rugby league's middle tier.

"If you ask me, you want all three Cumbrian clubs in the Championship - Whitehaven, Workington and Barrow," he said.

"It makes for six great games a season - your fanbase picks up, the quality of the squad improves, more money off the RFL [Rugby Football League].

"We want three established Championship clubs. Super League is probably out of the reach at the minute, but the Championship isn't.

"There's nothing that can't stop us from doing that. Backing is important but Barrow seem to be doing that right now."

Kyle Amor won two of his six games in charge of Whitehaven last season

Whitehaven were relegated to League 1 at the end of last season after a tumultuous campaign.

Haven were beset by financial problems with players going unpaid, board members resigning and the club's very future being under threat.

Former St Helens player and television pundit Kyle Amor came in for the last six games, but he could not prevent relegation.

Although he knows that making sure the Marras are still playing this season was an effort in itself.

"My own ego wanted us to stay up but we were unable to do that given the challenges that were presented," he said.

"In hindsight, it was probably the best thing for the club as it allowed for a reset and to do what they are doing now.

"I don't think they are out of the woods by any stretch, but I put my hands up to do that role to make sure the club carried on.

"There was a very real and serious threat the RFL was going to pull the licence away and rugby league would no longer exist in that town.

"That's how serious it was."

Barrow-in-Furness-born Morgan Knowles will hope to play for England in the Ashes this autumn

Stronger together? One Cumbria team?

A proud son of Whitehaven, Amor had to leave his county to make it to the top of the game as a Super League and Challenge Cup winner at Saints.

It is a situation faced by all promising players in the area, with current St Helens and England forward Morgan Knowles the latest example of a fine Cumbrian export.

Amor loves the derby, but he wonders if two, or even three, of Whitehaven, Workington and Barrow could merge into one Cumbrian team to allow rugby league to survive and thrive in the region.

"They are talking about expanding Super League to a 14-team competition and yet again we look past a hotbed of the game which is west Cumbria," he said.

"I don't believe rugby league can afford and sustain 36 professional clubs.

"Central funding to League 1 has been cut and I genuinely believe there will come a point where one or both of those west Cumbria clubs will struggle to exist, unless they pull themselves together and try to move forward that way.

"I think the game would welcome that. There is the old thing that Whitehaven and Workington will never merge and I get that.

"But if you put top-flight rugby in Cumbria, people will come and watch it regardless of which town it's in."