Castleford Tigers reach coaching breakthrough as new man chosen and candidates named

Castleford Tigers have decided who their new head coach will be: with an announcement set for Monday to confirm who Danny McGuire’s successor will be.

The Tigers have been on the hunt for their next coach for 2026 for a number of weeks ever since McGuire left the club, with director of rugby Chris Chester leading that search and taking charge of the team on an interim basis.

Love Rugby League revealed the five-man shortlist last month – and a process to whittle that down to just two individuals was conducted this week.

It is understood both men in the frame were from that initial shortlist, and Chester presented both candidates to the board this week before they decided on the successful applicant.

He said: “We’ve had some real positive conversations this week. We’ve trimmed it down to four interviews and we’ve got a preferred candidate. We’re just trying to negotiate a deal with the candidate.

“It’s very positive. I would have been hoped to have sat here giving you an exclusive but with time difference it’s been difficult. We came to a decision as a board yesterday, I put the two in front of the board and they both presented well. What I would say is that it’s been harder than I thought.

“There were a couple of real positive chats over the last 48 hours where we’ve got a preferred candidate. I will let that person know and chat to the agent and try and thrash out a deal.”

When asked for a possible announcement date, Chester said: “It’ll probably be early next week.

“Hopefully we can get everything tied up this weekend and we’ll look at the start of next week. There’s some real positive news coming out of the club.

“I’ve been impressed with all the candidates we’ve had. We had over 20 applicants at the start and I’ve been excited listening to people explain how they can get the town buzzing again and get the new team competing next year.”

Chester then confirmed that three of the shortlist initially revealed by Love Rugby League had indeed applied and were in contention.

He said: “Ryan Carr, Jimmy Lenihan, Ian Watson.. we’ve had a lot of good applicants that have come forward.

“Myself and Danny Wilson interviewed the guys on Monday and Tuesday and we narrowed the four down to two. I think they both presented well.”