Scotland star Phillips joins Whitehaven from Workington

Drew Darbyshire

Whitehaven have signed Scotland pivot Callum Phillips from rivals Workington Town on a one-year deal.

Phillips made his debut for Town back in 2013 and has gone on to make 112 appearances for them, scoring 24 tries.

His impressive performances for Workington saw him called up to Steve McCormack’s Scotland squad for the 2014 European Cup where he came off the bench three times and scored twice to help them qualify for the 2016 Four Nations.

He also featured for Scotland in their emphatic 18-18 draw with the then number one ranked side in the world New Zealand at Derwent Park in the Four Nations.

The 25-year-old has also been selected to represent the Bravehearts at the 2016 World Cup in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

And Phillips says the goal with Haven is to get promotion back to the Championship.

He said: “When Carl contacted me about coming to haven, my main draw was that he had a specific position in mind for me, so hopefully I can nail that down and help the clubs push for the championship.

“I’d just like to thank everyone at Workington Town, the players, coaches, the backroom staff and the fans for the last 5 years.

“My main focus now is to cement a place in Carl Forster’s team, I’m looking forward to pre-season.”

Phillips, brother of Workington’s Brett Phillips, is the eighth member of Haven’s 2018 squad to be confirmed.