Castleford forced in to late kit change for televised fixture

James Gordon

Photo by Craig Cresswell/News Images

Castleford were forced to make a late change to wear their third shirt in their televised clash with Hull KR on Friday night.

It was determined shortly before kick-off that their black and amber home shirt clashed with Hull KR’s predominantly dark blue away shirt.

So the Tigers had to wear their yellow third shirt, with the home shorts and socks.

Castleford’s primary colours are said to be amber and black, though in recent years their colours seem to have swung between different shades of orange and yellow.

A casual fan tuning in to the Sky Sports coverage might have been hard pressed to identify the two teams on first glance – if they ignored the scoreboard in the corner of course!

Earlier this season, the RFL said they were reviewing their procedures over clubs’ kit selection following a clash, ironically involving Castleford against Hull FC.

On that occasion Castleford wore their predominantly white away kit against Hull’s traditional black and white hooped shirts.

The RFL laws of the game state “the colours of the jerseys worn by competing teams shall be easily distinguishable”.

The sheer quantity of different shirts in rugby league mean its becoming increasingly difficult for them to build identity.

There’s a commercial need to have an alternative shirt, but rugby league clubs are now regularly releasing third and fourth shirts, for things like Magic Weekend.

It’s a shame that we can’t see clubs wearing their iconic, traditional colours more often to build identity.

Jacques O’Neill back in Cas colours

Meanwhile, Jacques O’Neill was in attendance after his return to Castleford was announced earlier this week.

Photo by Craig Cresswell/News Images

The Love Island reality TV star is to return to rugby league after almost a year out.

The Tigers retained his registration following his departure to appear on the ITV show, after which he attracted a lot of attention relating to his mental health.

Injury had prevented him from playing at all in 2022 before his mid-season departure.

His last appearance for Castleford was in the 26-19 defeat to Hull KR in September 2021.

O’Neill has made 29 appearances for the Tigers, three of them from the start, and has also made an appearance each for Halifax and Leigh on loan earlier in his career.

MORE: New Castleford coach looking to add creativity to his squad

Super League Castleford Tigers