Castleford 28 St Helens 14: Olpherts double sees Tigers breeze past Saints as Super League stays on despite coronavirus
DERRELL OLPHERTS’ double helped take Castleford to second spot in the table.
With nearly all sport across the UK being cancelled because of the coronavirus, rugby league took centre stage.
But Tigers registered a typical attendance, with few seeming to stray across from other sports.
Super League clubs will meet today to discuss the impact of the disease, with the competition expected to be postponed or shut down.
Tigers coach Daryl Powell said: “Everybody understands it’s a really difficult decision.
“There’s an eerie feeling around everywhere.”
Cas centre Peter Mata’utia crossed first off a Danny Richardson pass before Olpherts touched down in the 19th minute.
St Helens went a man down when Matty Lees was sin-binned for a high tackle — and Olpherts made them pay with his second try in the corner.
Right before half-time Tommy Makinson struck for Saints to pull the score back to 14-4.
In the second half, defending champions Saints were down to 12 men again when prop Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook was sin-binned for a high shot.
The result was sealed when Cheyse Blair barged over and Richardson added two penalty goals.
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Saints’ Jack Welsby and Cas’ Jake Trueman then traded tries before Luke Thompson crossed late for the visitors.
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf refused to blame the uncertainty over the virus for his team’s display.
He said: “It was certainly no reason for us not being where we needed to be.”