Super League hopefuls sign former England centre following Castleford Tigers release

A former England centre has joined ambitious York Knights in a major coup for the Super League hopefuls.

Sam Wood, 28, spent the past two seasons at Castleford Tigers and was their captain for a spell earlier this year, after previously playing in Super League  for Huddersfield Giants and Hull KR.

He earned an England cap against France in 2024, but was released by Tigers last month with a year remaining on his contract. In total, he featured 33 times for Castleford, scoring six tries.

York will learn this week if their bid to join Super League in 2026 has been successful. They won this year’s 1895 and topped the Championship table, but a 20-game winning streak ended when they were beaten by Toulouse Olympique in the Grand Final.

Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.

York Knights sign former Super League captain Sam Wood

Knights coach Mark Applegarth said: “I’m delighted to get a player of that calibre. He’ll add some real quality and depth to the centre positions.

“A lot of the young lads can learn from him and he’ll add that experience into our team. He was an England international only a couple of years ago so it’s our job to help him unlock that form again and get his confidence back to where he’s used to it being.”

Wood added: “I’m really excited about joining such a great bunch of people on and off the field. It’s a team that had such a brilliant season [this] year and is ambitious and passionate about getting better and progressing as a club. I can’t wait to get going.”

✍🏽 𝑾𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑩𝑬𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑺 𝑨 𝑲𝑵𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻

We’ve secured former England international, Sam Wood for 2026, thanks to the support of Squad Builder ⚔️

The 28-year old centre has spent the last two years at @CTRLFC, where he was named club captain in his first season.

🗣️ Head… pic.twitter.com/w9oTRH8bsu

— York RLFC Knights (@YorkRLFC) October 13, 2025