Castleford’s new southern recruit reveals family’s rugby league pedigree

Castleford Tigers new recruit Mike McMeeken may be a proud southerner, but rugby league runs deep in his family’s history.

The 20-year-old forward is looking to make an impression in the league hotbed of Cas, but it is on the other side of the Pennines to where his family’s origins can be traced.

“I am a southerner, I was born in Basingstoke and raised in Fleet, which is a few miles away, but my family are from up north, from Nantwich,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“My grandad played for St Helens reserves and he was a big Saints fan and I think it has gone on from him.

“My brother was in London Broncos’ academy and it’s through him I got playing for my amateur club, West London.

“I played union from when I was four and picked up league when I was 10. London Broncos have got a good academy system going down there.

“The work Phil Jones has put in over the years is really starting to pay off. You can see that.

“The under-19s are doing well and getting better each year and eventually I think they will have a team that’s a force to be reckoned with down there.”