Castleford claim bragging rights by beating Wakefield

Drew Darbyshire 21 Feb 2020 9:47 PM

Castleford came from being behind at half-time to produce a clinical second half display to beat rivals Wakefield 32-15 at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

Daryl Powell made just one change to his Castleford side that lost at Catalans last week. Peter Mata’utia returned from his suspension to replace Tyla Hepi.

Wakefield coach Chris Chester named an unchanged side to the one that beat Warrington last Sunday.

The visitors went 8-0 up within ten minutes at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle thanks to a Joe Westerman try and two goals from Ryan Hampshire.

But Castleford took the lead with two quick-fire tries from Cheyse Blair and Derrell Olpherts.

Wakefield speedster Tom Johnstone produced an incredible finish midway through the first half to edge his side in to a 12-10 advantage.

But the Tigers again dug deep and a slick cut-out pass from Danny Richardson saw James Clare dart over.

Trinity playmaker Jacob Miller added a drop goal with just seconds of the first half remaining to nudge his side in to a 15-14 lead at the break.

The first half was as good as it got for Wakefield though. Clare scored shortly after the second half restart to put the hosts in the lead.

Trinity were dealt a blow in the 47th minute when forward James Batchelor was sin-binned for holding Oliver Holmes back when chasing a kick.

Holmes capped his man of the match performance with a try before Olpherts went over for his second to poured salt in to the wounds of their rivals.

And Richardson added his fourth goal in the 79th minute to seal an impressive 32-15 victory for the Tigers.

Castleford: Rankin; Olpherts, Mata’utia, Shenton, Clare; Trueman, Richardson; Watts, McShane, Griffin, Holmes, Blair, Massey. Subs: Millington, McMeeken, Smith, O’Neill.

Tries: Blair, Olpherts (2), Clare (2), Holmes Goals: Richardson 4/8

Wakefield: Jowitt; Tupou, Lyne, Arundel, Johnstone; Miller, Hampshire; Kopczak, Wood, Tanginoa, Ashurst, Pitts, Westerman. Subs: Navarrete, Batchelor, Wood, Tangata.

Tries: Westerman, Johnstone Goals: Hampshire 3/4 Drop Goals: Miller 1