Castleford Tigers interim coach and director of rugby Chris Chester has given another update on the club’s plans for 2026, confirming that recruitment is almost complete and that the club intend to announce a coach next week.
Chester was appointed as director of rugby mid-season and was quickly tasked with finding a new head coach following the shock sacking of Danny McGuire. Since then, he has conducted interviews for the new coach and also overseen on-field operations.
Speaking after his side’s 36-6 loss to Hull KR, Chester took positives from the first-half showing and rued a key turning point but admitted it was a pleasing showing given the circumstances.
He explained: “16-6 at half-time. We were pretty happy with that considering the lack of any kind of field position. We found metres very, very hard to come by.
“It was a spirited performance and at half time we just spoke about discipline and then the very first set after half-time, we give a high shot away and then spend another 10 minutes on our own try line.”
Teen praised but player attitude noted again by Chester
Castleford then looked to cross the line but video referee Liam Rush judged Louis Senior lost the ball as he grounded, with Chester claiming it ‘might be a different game’ otherwise.
The interim coach said: “I’m not saying we’d have gone and won by any stretch but I just think we just didn’t ice the moments that we had.
More Rugby League
That was at 16-6 and if he scores then it’s 16-12 and Louis has got to do better and he knows that but considering we lost Fletcher Rooney yesterday in the very, very last play of team run, we didn’t really know what the team was going to be.
“I thought young Jenson Windley came in and did a fantastic job for us at full-back and considering he’s not played there ever, and that’s a great testament to Jenson.”
Whilst Chester was happy with the performance generally, he circled back to his belief that players can go missing at times. Asked if he’d learned anything, he argued that he hadn’t, before explaining: “I think when the going gets tough sometimes, we’ve got a few individuals that don’t like the tough stuff and that’s what we’ve got to change.
“We’ve got to change that mentality. I thought we had a really good opportunity here today to put in a strong performance and I thought we did that for 40 minutes.”
Castleford Tigers coach appointment plans revealed
As for his off-field roles as director of rugby, the Castleford Tigers man confirmed that recruitment is close but relies on the head coach appointment, something he believes will be soon.
He explained: “Recruitment-wise, we’re well down the line with it. There’s probably a squad of 25 or 26 as it stands and I’m just a bit reluctant just to spend up just while we’re waiting to get the new coach on board.”
On that appointment, he said: “We’re not far away. We’ve got another interview tomorrow, one on Monday, and there’ll be another one on Tuesday. It’s important that we get this decision right.
“It’s important that I provide the new coach with the tools and I think I’ve put a pretty good squad together for 2026 and there’s a lot to be excited about. I’m really excited about 2026.
“We don’t want to finish with a whimper. There’s a lot of players here that are contracted and that are playing for contracts. There’s a lot of players here that will be moving on as well. So we’ve got seven weeks here to really dig in and spend some time together as a group, because it’ll be the final time that this group plays together come the last game of the season.”
Pushed for when that coaching appointment could be, he added: “I’d like an announcement before the next game. I think that just really sends a real positive message and there’ll be a lot of positive news off the back of the new signing.
“I’m looking forward to getting that announcement and I’m looking forward to sitting back up in the stands in 2026