Whitehaven will be playing their Championship game with Toulouse Olympique at the Recreation Ground on Sunday at its scheduled 3pm kick-off time.

That had been one of the options for the staging of the postponed Coral Challenge Cup-tie with Dewsbury, put forward by the RFL.

The date had still not been confirmed three days after the postponement and 48 hours after the draw for the fifth round.

With next Sunday’s Championship opponents Widnes Vikings expressing their dismay at losing a home fixture, and Dewsbury’s scheduled hosts Oldham having a similar reaction, March 8 was taken off the table.

So it’s looking increasingly likely that Haven and Dewsbury will square up in midweek, probably on Wednesday March 11 at the Recreation Ground with the winners going to Newcastle Thunder a few days later.

Postponing the Widnes game would have meant Whitehaven travelling there in midweek so it’s rather better for the Cumbrians to be hosting a Wednesday game with Dewsbury instead of travelling.

And with Haven’s new floodlights looking impressive when used competitively for the first time during the evening kick-off against Oldham, which was broadcast live online, a night game might hold added appeal for supporters.

Toulouse Olympique, understandably, did not want to lose this weekend’s fixture in Cumbria after having all their travel arrangements already in place.

Hopefully the weather will improve to provide no more headaches for the Cumbrians’ groundstaff, as another postponement will make the backlog of fixtures extremely difficult to accommodate.

Whitehaven will be without both Sam Forrester and Brett Phillips on Sunday as they both serve one-match bans.

Forrester was guilty of tripping during Sunday’s defeat to Oldham, while Phillips was suspended for the same offence in the previous game at London Broncos.

But Toulouse also have a key player missing this weekend as back-row forward Harrison Hansen is also serving a one-match ban.

He was found guilty of Grade B contact with the head during the win at Sheffield Eagles.

The Samoan international is one of Toulouse’s most experienced players, and will be a huge miss for the French side, while giving a boost to Haven’s chances.

They are one of three teams who have won all three Championship games so far, sitting second to Leigh Centurions on points differential. They have scored 106 points and conceded 30.