Published at 11:12, Thursday, 21 June 2012

IT surely has to be a hot ticket in town – the latest Workington Town vs Whitehaven instalment on Derwent Park.

Confident: Jamie Thackray

But how spectator ‘hot’ remains to be seen. Certainly Sunday’s local derby offers West Cumbria a timely chance to set out its rugby league stall.

Not only do we have the added spice of being a top-of-the-table clash, but the potential prize of clinching those coveted World Cup games after all.

With Whitehaven sadly losing the opportunity, Workington has put down its own World Cup marker but faces Cumbrian competition from Barrow and a few other places in the RL heartland.

Red Hall mandarins will have to be convinced that hosts Scotland will prove sufficient box office playing their matches against Tonga and Italy on Derwent Park but also whether the old stadium is sufficiently fit for the purpose.

Derwent Park has seen better days, of course, but maybe the prospect of Britain’s Energy Coast cash to give it a bit of a facelift might prove a telling factor in the RFL committing to a West Cumbrian show of faith.

Bringing the World up back to Derwent Park (a past host) can provide the right atmosphere provided it can capture public imagination, not just here in West Cumbria but further afield.

Most of us would prefer to see Australia or New Zealand – just as we used to on the dearly missed Kangaroo and Kiwis Tours – but hosting lesser nations would still be a big step in the right direction RL wise plus the chance of showcasing the area.

But first and foremost it’s passion for rugby league that counts – filling up stand and terraces. Sir Tony Cunningham has been a passionate fan down the years and I know our new knight of the realm has been doing his bit to try and win the day for Derwent Park.

If Whitehaven’s loss is to prove Workington’s gain, then it’s no use crying over spilled Pow Beck milk.

What better way for Haven to compensate than to beat the old enemy on Sunday – certainly the team needs to make a statement.

Already this season it’s three defeats at Town’s hands – first Ike Southward Memorial match, then Northern Rail Cup and finally April’s 12-30 reversal at The Recre.

And all the while Haven have succumbed to assault and battery at the hands of the Town pack led inspiringly by Jamie Thackray. The man simply has to be subdued.

The Lee Doran-led Haven forwards must be sick of getting bossed about. Time to redress the balance. Maybe a lad of Irish descent called Mullally – Haven’s strapping 20-year-old on-loan Widnes recruit can help make a difference.

He played for Ireland against England Knights (second string) last weekend.

But more notably it was Whitehaven lad Lee Mossop who made his international debut for the full England side and helped beat The Exiles at St Helens.

Another feather, too, in the cap for the Hensingham amateur nursery. To establish yourself in the present Wigan pack and be a Challenge Cup winner is quite a feat in its own right but if Lee,23, continues on his impressive journey he stands a great chance of making an England jersey his own for next year’s World Cup.

Rubbing shoulders with Mossop for last Saturday’s big game was one Jamie Jones-Buchanan who plays for Leeds but just happens to have a fancy for birds in the Whitehaven area - the feathered variety!

Featured last week on the popular Super League Supermen series (Sky), this proud Yorkshire lad explained his passion for hens and chickens.

He told Brian Carney (in his own inimitable Tyke dialect): “There wasn’t much coming out of budgies, so I thought why not get some chickens. Just had a trip up to Whitehaven and met quite a few farmers, we sat down and they told me how I could have the best chicken coup in Bramley. Come back home and put that to practice. Actually James Donaldson’s mum (Pauline) brought me some chickens down (from Cleator Moor) put ‘em in and found they were really methodical creatures, so much for the English language... pecking order and stuff like that, it comes from chicken behaviour. I had one particular chicken out of the five that was particularly outstanding, it was laying double yolkers, really unbelievable, supposed to be one in a thousand, but when you get a double yolker egg it’s just like catching a big fish.”

Moral of this has to be that although Haven haven’t won a local derby since June 2010, Town shouldn’t count their chickens too soon – the law of averages says that Whitehaven are due a win, but you wouldn’t put your best banty on it!

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk