Cas vs Toulouse: Match Preview

Castleford Tigers will face French side Toulouse Olympique for the very first time when the Super League newcomers visit The Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Friday night.

Last time out the Fords put on an outstanding Challenge Cup display to get the better of rivals Leeds Rhinos in a comprehensive 40-16 victory and Lee Radford will be hoping his side can produced a repeat display.

Tickets for the Tigers’ maiden meeting with Toulouse are still available online at castlefordtigers.com/tickets, or by visiting our Tigers Den store in Carlton Lanes, the Stadium Store at Wheldon Road, or at the Superstore in Xscape.

Our new Fan Zone for 2022 has been a massive hit with supporters enjoying the plethora of entertainment on show and on this occasion, all of the amusements will have special ‘70s twist. We are for one night only changing the name of our Fan Zone on April 1st - The Fan Zone will be renamed ‘Boogie Wonderland’!

The Tigers are delighted to confirm all of the entertainment and acts that will be performing on the night!

• An Abba tribute band will kick-off the night on the Molson Coors Stage and will be performing after the match
• Vocalist Oliver Harris will be warming up the crowd on the pitch before kick-off
• Outside the ground we will have ‘70s themed duo Pedro Gaio & Joe Greenwood performing
• Balloon modellers will be located by the Main Stand and will be producing brilliant balloon creations. Great entertainment for children!
• Our Claws dance troop will be providing face painting too for our young Cas supporters
• Our very own Tigers mascot JT will also be dressing up especially and will be performing on the field with the Claws cheerleaders
• Keep an eye out around The Jungle for our new special collectible s too called #CollectACas – which will be revealed very soon!

We encourage fans to get down to Wheldon Road early to sample the best atmosphere in Super League and make sure to stick around after full-time to enjoy the entertainment into the night!

There is just one change to the squad that was announced for last Saturday’s Challenge Cup away victory over Leeds Rhinos with Daniel Smith suffering a calf strain which is being assessed, so James Clare steps into the 21-man squad.

Sylvain Houles’ side picked up their maiden Super League victory in March in an enthralling encounter against reigning champions St Helens at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Frenchman Paul Marcon acrobatically clinched the match winning score in the corner with just two minutes to go to crown a momentous occasion for the league’s newcomers.

Toulouse brought in some top-level experience with James Cunningham, Chris Hankinson, Matty Russell and Olly Ashall-Bott all making the move to the south of France for 2022.

Despite suffering defeats in their Super League matches up until the Saints game, Toulouse have provided tough opposition to a number of teams this term, pushing the likes of Wigan all the way to Golden Point.

Houles will be looking to harness the undoubted feel-good factor in and around the squad after their standout victory over St Helens as they come to The Jungle looking for their first ever Super League away win.

Assistant Coach Andy Last addressed the press this week ahead of Friday night’s showdown with Toulouse and outlined that the Tigers will have to remain focussed on the task at hand.

“I think the big improvement from us at Leeds was from a defensive point of view and the fact that we managed to keep them under 18 points. We have taken confidence from that and it’s something that we have built on this week. We still are a work in progress, and I think we can improve but I think you could see our offensive power and strike that we have got. We’ve got huge respect for the job Sylvain Houles has done and they are going to be a well drilled and well coached side. To beat St Helens is a magnificent achievement and they played with a real energy about them the other week. We need to take care of our attitude and make sure that we are all ready to play on Friday night.”

Watch Andy Last’s press conference on Tigers TV

#ONECLUB man Adam Milner was involved in his first competitive match of 2022 during the victory over Leeds after recovering from injury and the 30-year-old spoke of his delight in returning to the field last time out.

“It’s been tough watching from the sidelines and I have not enjoyed it one bit. I was really excited to get back on the weekend and we delivered an outstanding performance to put us in the next round of the Cup. We are expecting a bit of the unknown and they have got a team full of mavericks. We’ve got to get ourselves up the league table and get the two points. It’s massive that we get our league form going now because the performance on the weekend should be the standard now and within the group, we feel that it was a Cas performance. It is about us being consistent and if we put on a similar performance to what we did last weekend then we will be ok.”

Adam Milner’s pre-match press conference is available to view HERE on Tigers TV

Castleford Tigers: 1. Niall Evalds, 2. Derrell Olpherts, 3. Jordan Turner, 4. Jake Mamo, 5. Bureta Faraimo, 6. Jake Trueman, 8. Liam Watts, 9. Paul McShane, 10. George Lawler, 11. Kenny Edwards, 12. Adam Milner, 13. Joe Westerman, 14. Nathan Massey, 15. George Griffin, 17. Mahe Fonua, 19. Tyla Hepi, 20. James Clare, 21. Alex Sutcliffe, 23. Greg Eden, 25. Suaia Matagi, 31. Gareth O’Brien

Toulouse Olympique: 3. Junior Vaivai, 5. Paul Marcon, 7. Lucas Albert, 8. Romain Navarrete, 10. Harrison Hansen, 11. Andrew Dixon, 12. Dominique Peyroux, 13. Anthony Marion, 14. Eloi Pelissier, 15. Maxime Puech, 16. Joseph Bretherton, 17. Joseph Paulo, 18. Mitch Garbutt, 19. James Cunningham, 21. Chris Hankinson, 23. Justin Sangare, 24. Guy Armitage, 25. Matty Russell, 27. Olly Ashall-Bott, 30. Maxime Stefani, 31. Tony Gigot

Wherever you are cheering on the Tigers, get in touch with the club on social media and use the hashtags: #NewCasEra or #COYF