While the UK’s sporting weekend cupboard was left almost bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was business as usual in rugby league’s Super League as Castleford Tigers beat St Helens 28-14 in front of a sizeable crowd at The Jungle on Sunday.
Peter Mata’utia’s early try and two from Derrell Olpherts put the hosts in command, and although Tommy Makinson replied before halftime, Castleford built on their advantage in the second half with Jack Welsby and Jake Trueman going over.
“It’s been a mental week not knowing if we were going to be playing or not, but we just had to focus on ourselves and getting the two points against a great side,” Castleford’s Paul McShane told Sky Sports.
Photo: Reuters
Castleford went joint top with the victory over the defending Super League champions, although when they play again is uncertain, as the UK’s other sports have largely been suspended due to coronavirus outbreak.
English Premier League and EFL soccer has been suspended until April 3 at the earliest, yet Super League elected to carry on, following the government’s decision not to outlaw mass gatherings.
It has inevitably raised eyebrows, although Rugby Football League (RFL) chief executive Ralph Rimmer said that unless the advice changes, the RFL would be going forward with the season.
“I won’t pre-empt any decision from government,” Rimmer told BBC Radio 5 Live. “We have managed to liaise with them regularly and they have been very direct with their guidance. We’ll be meeting the professionals early this week to talk about what the options may look like in the future, but until anything changes we’ll be going forward.”
Responding to the surprise that Super League was continuing when the soccer leagues had acted independently to suspend, he said the RFL were simply following government advice, pointing out that the Cheltenham horse racing festival went ahead last week.
“At the moment it’s everyone’s prerogative to choose what they want to do, but nevertheless the games are on,” Rimmer said.
Castleford coach Daryl Powell said suspending Super League would be damaging to the clubs.
“There’s no doubt about it, the main taking point this week has been coronavirus,” Powell said. “The way it’s already impacting on all our lives and the sporting landscape is incredible.”
“Financially, soccer can probably cop it, but I don’t think rugby league can, so there will be some serious thinking going on behind closed doors to see what needs to be done,” he said.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS