REPORT: Castleford Tigers v St Helens

Castleford Tigers were knocked out of the Betfred Challenge Cup by St Helens on Saturday evening.

It didn’t take long for the away side to go ahead, as after a penalty conceded by the Tigers, Daryl Clark ended a set on the Tigers’ line by burrowing through to score between the sticks, with Jackson Hastings having an easy two-pointer to add, making it 0-6 in the early minutes.

Saints then increased their advantage in the very next set, with Lewis Murphy touching down after they’d made a break through the defence through Curtis Sironen, with Tristan Sailor sending the winger on his way.

It seemed like Saints were vastly on top, but Cas fought back, winning a penalty and then coming close to a try through darting runs from Tom Weaver and Krystian Mapapalangi, but both were kept out by some scrambling Saints defence.

The pressure kept piling on, but a Cas knock-on after a bomb from St Helens gave them a scrum on the Cas fifteen and some breathing space.

It was then the away side that came close, but a try-saver from Jason Qareqare and a break from Mapapalangi swung momentum back in the home side’s favour.

Despite some great pressure from Cas, Mark Percival got to a loose ball after Saints lost it and went in to score at the corner, but Hastings this time couldn’t convert.

At the interval, it was 0-16 in Saints’ favour, leaving the Tigers with plenty of work to do in the second half.

After the break, the Tigers were in! Quick hands out to the left saw Mapapalangi send Qareqare in to score, putting the home side on the board!

However, a late hit on Mapapalangi meant he was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment, and a yellow card was given to Feldt.

While the away side were down to 12 men, the Saints line was under siege on numerous occasions, with both wingers coming close to pulling the Tigers closer on the scoreboard, but some heroic defence meant they managed to go all ten minutes without conceding a point.

Saints’ first chance of the second half saw them score, with Lewis Murphy on the end of a looped pass, before Hastings pulled his conversion attempt wide.

It got even worse for the Tigers, as Ignatius Paasi bundled the ball over the line before Hastings added the extras.

Ashton Golding pulled one back after a darting run down the left ten minutes from time, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.

Saints soon scored again down their right-hand side, with Feldt scoring but Hastings couldn’t add the extras.

Full-time: Castleford Tigers 8-32 St Helens RFC