Castleford Tigers captain makes apology statement after club crash out of Challenge Cup

Castleford Tigers captain Sam Wood has written a statement apologising to the club’s fans after they crashed out of the Challenge Cup on Sunday.

The Tigers were the only Super League side not to progress from Round Three of the Cup with Castleford falling to an 18-16 defeat to Championship favourites Bradford Bulls.

Bradford controlled the first 40 minutes of the game and took a deserved 17-0 lead in at half time but Castleford eeked back into the match after the break.

Tex Hoy scored a try in the last minute to make it 18-16 but the Australian could not convert meaning that Castleford crashed out of the cup, prompting shock and disgust from fans.

Captain Sam Wood has now released a statement via the club’s website in which he has apologised for the performance and promised that the players are “working hard to bounce back and bring that pride back to the shirt”.

Castleford Tigers captain releases apology statement

The statement was titled ‘A message to fans from captain Sam Wood’ and was shared on the club’s website.

It read: “The whole playing group is as disappointed as the fans were by yesterday’s performance and result. Believe me, no one is hurting as much as us players. We know that performance isn’t how we want to be seen.

“I see the hard work we are putting in every day in training, the preparation and the commitment this bunch of boys have to what we want to achieve this season. We are way better than yesterday and that’s what is so disappointing.

“For the fans that travelled and the Cas fans watching on TV, on behalf of the squad we apologise. We take responsibility. We have already started working on what we need to do.

“It’s an honour to wear the shirt and play for Cas and we know we didn’t do ourselves justice yesterday. I promise we are working hard to bounce back and bring that pride back to the shirt and the club you all love.”

Next up for Castleford Tigers is a tough away trip to Craven Park to face Hull KR on Friday night with Wood and head coach Danny McGuire returning to their former club.