25th April 2012

RLWC2013 pulls out of Whitehaven

Rugby League World Cup 2013 have announced today that the Scotland v Tonga and Scotland v Italy matches will no longer take place in Whitehaven.

As a result of decisions taken by their consortium partners, Copeland Borough Council are no longer able to guarantee the building of Pow Beck Stadium within the timeframe required by the tournament.

Sally Bolton RLWC2013 General Manager said “When selecting Copeland as a host RLWC2013’s selection committee were very supportive of the idea of building a new stadium in Whitehaven as a way of growing the game in West Cumbria.

“The fact that Copeland Borough Council's partners are no longer able to deliver that is disappointing as the area will not benefit from being part of RLWC2013, the biggest sporting event in the UK to take place after London 2012.

“As the Copeland bid was predicated on the building of a new stadium our strategy always included a robust contingency plan, which has now been put into place and we will announce the replacement venues shortly."