Super League place beckons for Whitehaven or Castleford

Their coach, Steve McCormack, said that he could see no problem with that. "If we were playing in Cornwall, our fans would still come and watch Super League," he said. "Everyone's delighted at the news. If we had been going into the final knowing we wouldn't be going up, it would have been a massive blow."

The decision removes the last vestige of hope that Widnes, who host Sunday's final, might avoid relegation. Halton Borough Council, who own their ground, have told the League that they will not attempt legal action on the grounds that Whitehaven do not meet the promotion criteria.

Ryan Bailey, of Leeds, and Bradford's Brad Meyers have been cleared of dangerous throws in the Super League play-offs last weekend.

Darren Lockyer has retained the Australian captaincy for this autumn's Tri-Nations, despite the availability of Andrew Johns. Johns is to fly back to Australia this week after his short stint with Warrington and will play in the matches against New Zealand on 15 and 22 October. Lockyer led Australia to victory in last year's tournament, when Johns was injured.

The Wests Tigers captain, Scott Prince, has been rewarded for leading his side to the NRL Premiership on Sunday by being named as one of only three uncapped players in the 23-man squad. The others are the North Queensland forward Luke O'Donnell and the Melbourne centre Matt King.