Castleford women attract record crowd
A home record crowd of 1,148 watched Castleford Women beat Featherstone 48-4 at The Jungle on Thursday night.
In another boost for the women’s game, a live stream of the match also achieved thousands of views.
For half an hour, it looked like Featherstone were capable of an upset, former Castleford skipper Katie Hepworth drawing them level at 4-4.
But even with Tara Stanley in the sin-bin, Castleford opened up a 14-4 advantage before half time.
They cut loose in the second half with three tries in 12 minutes from Kelsey Gentles putting the game beyond doubt, and she would finish with four on the night.
It is believed that the attendance figure is one of the highest ever for a stand-alone women’s rugby league game.
Almost 1300 turned out for the 2018 Grand Final, while a crowd of over 3,000 was recorded for a game between Bradford and Leeds last season which formed part of a double header with a men’s fixture.
Amazing turn out on a Thursday night for a women’s game!! Absolutely brilliant!! Credit to Cas fans!! ?? #WomensRugbyLeague #RugbyLeague https://t.co/ljWmZQjXr0
— Natalie Watson ?⚪️?? (@NaterlieeLou) May 23, 2019
1100+ people watching women’s rugby league on a Thursday night? Unbelievable Jeff! https://t.co/3PNITjl3VC
— Grace (@gracefieldxo) May 23, 2019
Set your goals and achieve them.
I love my club.@CTRLFCWomen absolutely trail blazing #wsl#rugbyleague should be proud#castigers #coyf https://t.co/uEfw6Zvl41
— Cas Tiger Stats ? (@Castigerstats) May 23, 2019
Crowds of 700, 800 and now over 1000 without the mass-media coverage other sports get. Well done all at @CTRLFCWomen, on and off the field. #RugbyLeague
— Richard Shaw-Wright (@thersw) May 23, 2019