Interviews: Meet the Whitehaven team

By Paul Newton BBC Radio Cumbria

Dave Rotheram replaced Steve McCormack as Haven boss in 2005

Ask either coach where the greater pressure will lie in the Northern Rail Cup final on Sunday 15 July and you will get two identical answers.

Whitehaven coach Dave Rotheram will be happy to take on the 'underdogs' tag at Blackpool's Bloomfield Road while Steve McCormack appreciates his Widnes side are expected to win given their full-time status.

However, neither coach has to look too far back in time to see all this counts for very little.

Rewind back twelve months to when Justin Morgan's full-time Hull KR side arrived at Bloomfield Road as cup holders, runaway leaders of National One and clear favourites.

Their opponents that day were Leigh Centurions, third in National One under Tony Benson, and not given much of a hope by anyone outside of Hilton Park.

Widness coach Steve McCormack will be desperate to finally win a final after three successive disappointments

Leigh's subsequent 22-18 victory should be reason enough for Rotheram, his players and their thousands of fans who will be making the trip to the Fylde coast to believe there is no reason why history will not repeat itself.

Admittedly, the last time Whitehaven came up against full-time opposition in a major final (Castleford in the 2005 Grand Final) the pre-match predicitions of a landslide Cas win were proved correct.

But the West Cumbrian club will take heart from their last meeting with the Vikings when McCormack's men edged home 24-20 winners at the Halton Stadium in their Grand Final play-off last year.

Haven have a history of raising themselves for big games and will relish the chance to prove the bookies wrong.

So where can they win the final? Well, it is clear Whitehaven's big pack needs to match-up against their opposite numbers.

Key to this will be game-time afforded to experienced front-rowers Steve Trindall and David Fatialofa. On their day, as good as any front row outside of Super League.

Scrum-half John Duffy will also prove key to Haven's chances but will only prosper behind a dominant pack.

Out wide, the pace of Craig Calvert is a crucial part of Dave Rotheram's armoury and the wide expanse of the Bloomfield Road pitch will be to his liking.

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Whitehaven will also look to the big-game experience of Aaron Smith, a Grand Final winner with Castleford and a key organiser in the Haven thirteen, and his personal battle with opposite number Mark Smith will be one of the many keenly-anticipated match-ups.

An interesting side issue to the contest will see several former Haven players line-up against their former club.

Centre Mick Nanyn along with scrum-half Joel Penny and second-rower turned prop Oliver Wilkes will be desperate to get 'one over' on their former employers.

And Steve McCormack will be desperate to finally win a final after three successive disappointments with Whitehaven (twice) and the Vikings last year.

So, can Whitehaven do it?

In theory - yes, in reality - possibly. To do so, they must win their key battles, stifle the pace and power of their opposition pack and shut-down the space for half-backs Penny and Moran to do their damage.