Castleford star reveals what Jacques O’Neill is really like

Castleford Tigers announced just before the international break that Jacques O’Neill had re-signed for the club on an initial contract until the end of 2023.

O’Neill previously played for the Tigers from 2019 to 2022 before appearing on ITV’s hit reality show, Love Island.

Before leaving The Mend-A-Hose Jungle, the 23-year-old, who is a proud product of the club’s Academy, featured for the First Team on 29 occasions, scoring three tries since making his debut in 2019.

Jacques will link back up with the Tigers from the 2nd of May due to work commitments and when talking to castlefordtigers.com, he spoke of his pleasure to be returning to rugby league and the Tigers.

“I just can’t wait to be back playing the sport I love again and being back around the ground with the boys. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll be back playing competitive rugby again because it’s been what I’ve been thinking about doing since I came out of Love Island.

“I’ve always wanted to play rugby again; it’s never been the case that I didn’t want to come back to it. It’s what I’ve loved doing since I was a child.”

After departing Love Island in the summer of last year, the Club and its supporters offered their support, which is something that Jacques is incredibly thankful for.

“The support from the Cas fans when I left the show was absolutely massive to me. When I came down to The Jungle for the first time and everyone was there supporting me, it meant so much.

“I can’t thank them enough and hopefully I can get out on the field soon and repay them for that support that they’ve shown me.”

Some questioned the signing but based on the insight of teammate Greg Eden, O’Neill should have no problem adjusting.

He revealed that Jacques is one of the worst for bickering on a night out.

He said on Fully Game: “There’s a few bickers. Jacques O’Neill used to always get in a bicker on a night out with one of the lads.

“Jacques sticks up for himself, he’s got a big opinion so he’s always bickering with someone.”

He also explained why Jacques has come back to the sport:

“If you’re by your own you can fall off the cliff but with a group of mates keeping themselves disciplined it helps.”