Callum Phillips stays with Whitehaven

Whitehaven have handed a new deal to Scotland international hooker Callum Phillips.

Phillips, 26, moved from Cumbrian rivals Workington ahead of the 2018 season and has agreed a new one-year deal at the Recre.

He said: “It was tough going at times last season with the small squad we had and the amount of games we played, but we had a close group of lads and the crack was good so that carried us through and even though we just missed out on the play offs it was still a good year.

“Gary and Jonty will attract a lot of local players to the club and both have great knowledge of rugby and how to manage a group of lads so I’m confident they’ll do a great job.”

Phillips is the 11th confirmed player in the Whitehaven squad for 2019, and the club announced at the end of last week that they had moved out of the special measures imposed on them by the RFL following financial concerns last season.