ON A WING AND A PRAYER
Tigers ace to stand out from the crowd
JAMES CLARE is praying he’s done enough to take centre stage this season instead of being lost in the crowd.
The 27-year-old winger is a lifelong Castleford fan and paid to watch the Tigers in last year’s Grand Final.
He was a Leigh player at the time and admits he found it odd seeing his hometown club play on the biggest stage of all.
Now Castleford are 80 minutes from their second appearance at Old Trafford and Clare is desperate to be on the pitch this time.
They play Wigan in Friday’s semi-final, with Clare in a threeway battle for the wing spots with Greg Minikin and Greg Eden.
He said: “I would love to play because it’s a proud moment every time I step on the field for my hometown club.
“I went to Old Trafford as a fan last year with my dad and it was surreal, watching Castleford in a Grand Final. I have had a season ticket since I was six years old and I did not think I would ever see them there.
“Hopefully we will get there again and I can play in it. Every time I pull on the jersey I remember all those great Castleford players who I used to watch as a kid.”
Contract
Clare started his career with Cas but then had spells with Bradford and Leigh before rejoining the Tigers this year.
He said: “I played in the Million Pound Game last year with Leigh and I was fighting for a contract.
“Now I might be playing in a Grand Final with my hometown club. There is no club I’d rather be playing for.”
Meanwhile, Sam Tomkins is back in the England squad after being snubbed for the mid-season win against New Zealand and last year’s World Cup.
The Wigan full-back hasn’t played for England since 2014 and is part of a 24-man squad for the threeTest series against the Kiwis which starts in Hull on October 27. ENGLAND SQUAD: Bateman, Greenwood, O’Loughlin, Tomkins, Williams (Wigan), G, S & T Burgess (South Sydney), Clark, Hill, Ratchford (Warrington), Connor (Hull), Gale, Milner (Castleford), Graham (St George), Hodgson, Whitehead (Canberra), Johnstone, Lyne (Wakefield), Lomax, Makinson, Percival, Thompson (St Helens), McGillvary (Huddersfield). ¬ÊRELEGATED Widnes have sacked coach Francis Cummins, just four months after he was appointed.