Paul Rowley on his “special” Super League debut as a head coach

Salford boss Paul Rowley says he will remember his Super League debut as a head coach for a long time to come after an impressive 26-16 win at Castleford.

Former Leigh and Toronto Wolfpack coach Rowley took over the coaching reins at Salford from Richard Marshall in the close season.

He got off to the perfect start as Red Devils boss. King Viniyayawa and Deon Cross both scored tries as did last season’s Super League top try scorer Ken Sio.

Rowley said: “Coming here in front of a 10,500 sell-out, to beat a top-four side in Cas is a remarkable achievement for the boys.

“And we did it not even playing at our best. It was definitely a win for toughness and resilience.

“We had long periods defending our own line. We let one try in in the second half, other than that we were strong and we kept chipping away.

“It was special. We will remember this day, it feels like rugby is back.”

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Salford and Castleford scored three tries apiece, but it was the clinical boot of Marc Sneyd that made all the difference.

Half-back Sneyd, who returned to Salford in the off-season from Hull, nailed seven goals from as many attempts.

Rowley added: “I think everybody in the whole stadium apart from him was probably tense and with their heart-rate sky high.

“Sneydy was cool throughout and to keep chipping away was the only way to dampen down the crowd noise. He had some great support from his team-mates but, when it mattered, Sneydy came up with the goods.”

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