Castleford Tigers landed a famous win over Wigan Warriors as they came from 14-6 down at half-time to secure an incredible win in Super League.
Three second-half tries saw Castleford run out 24-14 winners with Wigan folding in the 20 minutes after half-time in an ill-disciplined performance.
Nothing should be taken away from how good Castleford were with the Tigers having spent the last week mulling over their 34-0 loss to Wakefield Trinity.
It marked the first time Wigan Warriors have lost three in a row in Super League since 2021, highlighting the magnitude of the result for Wigan who now have to try and bounce back with an away trip to face Warrington Wolves.
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Wigan Warriors v Castleford Tigers talking points
Wigan hit unwanted record
The talk last week ahead of the Challenge Cup game was around the possibility of Matt Peet losing a third game in a row for the first time, something that ultimately did not happen as Wigan edged Wakefield out. However, today’s loss marks the first time that they have lost three Super League games in a row since August 2021, way before Matt Peet even took charge of the club.
Those three defeats came against Hull KR, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos. This year’s defeats have come against St Helens in that dramatic derby, bottom of the table Huddersfield Giants and a Castleford side who started the day at the bottom of the table.
It’s quite extraordinary how Wigan started the year with five straight wins only to run into three straight defeats but it highlights just how much they’re missing key man Bevan French.
Half-back woes
It’s long been said that Wigan are not the same team when they don’t have one of Jai Field or Bevan French and at times this season they’ve been without both. For one or two games, you can absorb such a huge blow but the absence of French is really starting to show.
Making matters worse for today, and their next two games, is Harry Smith’s suspension meaning Adam Keighran had to pair young talent Jack Farrimond in the halves. Both are supremely talented but Bevan French can win games on his own, whilst Smith’s kicking control is near unparalleled in Super League.
Castleford’s Jenson Windley was in for a first Super League start this season at full-back but he was hardly tested once with both Keighran and Farrimond’s radar slightly off the mark.
Krystian Mapapalangi
Is it too early to call him the signing of the season? Other players may go on to play their role in winning silverware, something you expect Castleford won’t do, but in terms of quality Mapapalangi’s addition is a wonderful one.
The outside back has been brilliant all season and it’s no surprise that two of the club’s wins, namely today and the win over Bradford, saw Mapapalangi dominate. He opened the scoring and then grabbed the try to stretch Castleford’s lead after a brilliant break on the left before then chasing and grounding his own kick.
Ryan Carr has previously spoken about wanting to build his team around the star centre and it makes plenty of sense. Chris Chester needs to get a contract in front of him ASAP.
Kit clash
With most teams having at least three different kits these days, there should never be a kit clash and yet today it was tough at times, particularly in the shadows, to distinguish between Castleford’s yellow and Wigan’s green.
Wigan were wearing their charity shirt with the Warriors continuing to show their influence in the community by supporting the wonderful work of Derian House, whose ambassadors were in attendance at the game thus signifying the importance of Wigan playing at home in the charity shirt.
However, there should certainly have been a decision to ensure Castleford played in either their white shirt or their black shirt with the kit clash just appearing to be another amateur error that should have been easily avoided.
Finish off the season
Amid plenty of despair for Wigan, they do deserve some credit or more specifically, Dayon Sambou needs plenty of credit. Thrust onto the wing for his Wigan Super League debut, the former St Helens man took his try exceptionally.
Jon Wells labelled it ‘gravity-defying’ and he was not exaggerating. The winger’s athletic finish was truly incredible, whilst he was also the one to leap highest and bat the ball back for Zach Eckersley’s try.
It’s also worth noting that we possibly saw the try-saver of the season with Mikaele Ravalawa stopping Jai Field from grounding in the first-half, something that was massive in the context of the game.
A first win at Wigan since 2017 for @CTRLFC! 🐯#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/7TnOpQRkjK
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) April 19, 2026
