Rugby, cricket, tennis and golf offer alternatives to football

Football may hold sway as the most popular game in this country, but there distinct enjoyments to be taken from other competing sports, whether it be the excitement delivered by rugby union or rugby league, the individual skill exhib'ted by the top tennis and golf players, or the pleasure offered by cricket's county game.

Workington Town are a rugby league side with a distinguished past, but who have struggled to match up to their historical trophy-winning achievements in recent years. The outfit from West Cumbria were league champion after just seven years of existence, besting Warrington in the Maine Road-staged final of 1951. Twelve months on from that success and Workington Town were overpowering Featherstone Rovers 18-10 in the first televised Challenge Cup Final, played at Wembley Stadium. A Lancashire Cup was secured in 1978, yet the euphoria of that win was mitigated by the pain of losing final appearances in the same competition in 1977, 1979, and 1980. Since then success has been limited for Workington Town, with the achievement of playing in the first ever Super League season in 1996 being countered by relegation after just one year.

In contrast to the toils of Workington, rugby union's Worcester Warriors play in their sport's highest division, having earned promotion to the Guinness Premiership in 2004. The promotion campaign was a flawless affair for the Warriors, with 26 victories coming from their 26 fixtures, and they have maintained their elite divisional status since. Worcester Warriors have also made an impression on the European Challenge Cup, reaching the semis of that competition in the 2005-06 season. The club went one better in 2008, when they made the final, only to go down 24-16 to Bath. There was further excitement for Worcester Warriors fans that summer though, as the side pulled off a transfer coup and acquired the services of Australia legend Chris Latham.

'Australian legend' is a description that could easily be applied to tennis virtuoso Roy Emerson, whose 12 Grand Slam singles wins stood as an all-time record in the men's game, until Pete Sampras finally surpassed it. In addition to his singles success, Emerson also recorded 16 Grand Slam doubles victories, with his tournament wins all happening between 1961 and 1967. Emerson's primary rival was his countryman Rod Laver, although 'Emmo' is not held in quite the same esteem as 'Rocket' by tennis fans, as the majority of his Grand Slams occurred in the period when those events were only open to amateur competitors.

Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson was already representing his country as an amateur at the tender age of 18, before joining the professional game in 1998. Stenson has secured a-half dozen event wins on the tour, but he is better known for an incredible consistency than for tile-winning heroics. It is this steadiness which has put Stenson in the Order of Merit Top 10 for the last four seasons, although there is an eccentric side to the Swede too - as evinced at the WGC-CA Championship in 2009, where he eschewed any special golf equipment to help get him out of a muddy bog, in favour of stripping to his boxer shorts to play his shot.

Northamptonshire cricket club boast of being the most venerable county side, apparently having formed around 1820. However the side were only made official in 1878 and success has been limited across their history. Championship runners-up in 1957 and 1965, Northamptonshire cricket club almost landed a Cup and Championship double, but they ultimately again came in second in the latter, trailing behind Middlesex.

Northamptonshire currently play in Division Two, which is the English cricket equivalent to football's Championship. To see the football latest log on to http://www.188-football.co.uk