Jacques O’Neill: Castleford coach on possibility of re-signing Love Island star

Castleford coach Lee Radford has said the club have not spoken to Jacques O’Neill about a potential return following his time in Love Island. 

O’Neill, 23, visited his Castleford team-mates the day after returning home from leaving the hit reality TV show.

The Tigers have the first option to re-sign O’Neill should he wish to return to rugby league.

But with the transfer deadline in rugby league having passed last week, it looks unlikely that he will return to the sport until 2023 at the earliest.

“He’s just getting cash and spending cash that bloke,” Radford joked. “I might be asking him for some cash at some point!

“I spoke to him on Sunday, it was just a general chat really about what the life of a superstar is like now!

“We’ve not really spoken about it (re-signing). He has got a lot going on at the moment as you’d expect and I think what’s important is that he does everything he can while he can during this period. I think that’s really important for him.”

Jacques O’Neill rugby league background

O’Neill has made more than 30 career appearances since making his Super League debut for Castleford in 2019.

The hooker hails from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. He played for Askham community club as a junior before moving to West Yorkshire after being picked up by Castleford.

O’Neill has also enjoyed loan spells in the Championship with Leigh Centurions and Halifax Panthers. In April 2021, he was named in the England Knights Performance Squad.

The hooker was the first professional rugby league player to enter the Love Island villa.

O’Neill has yet to confirm if he would like to return to being a professional rugby league player in the near future. There’d be no doubt a number of clubs who’d been keen on securing his services in Super League.

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