Castleford 28 Widnes 26: Raper offers to return for Tigers to help rookie Orr

HIGHLY-RESPECTED former head coach Stuart Raper could fly back to take charge of Castleford Tigers once more as early as next week.
Jamie Ellis escapes from Rhys Hanbury of Widnes to scoreJamie Ellis escapes from Rhys Hanbury of Widnes to score
Jamie Ellis escapes from Rhys Hanbury of Widnes to score

The Australian was at the Wheldon Road helm from 1997 to 2000 when he oversaw the club’s finest spells in the Super League era and took them to within moments of reaching Wembley in 1999.

Now Castleford chief executive Steve Gill says he has offered to guide the West Yorkshire club through this potentially difficult period until they appoint a permanent new head coach following Ian Millward’s sacking.

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Caretaker coach Danny Orr inspired Castleford to a first win in 10 games on Saturday when they came from 26-16 behind to defeat Widnes Vikings and lift away from the bottom of the table.

However, the 34-year-old ex-Tigers captain has only just started learning the ropes as an assistant and has already stated he is not ready for the top job.

Raper, who was Orr’s coach at Castleford in the Nineties and later signed him for Wigan, has not coached since leaving Cronulla Sharks in 2006 and was in co-charge of the NRL’s referees department until last year. But the 48-year-old’s experience would prove invaluable for Orr and the under-manned club as it continues the process of seeking a long-term replacement with an Englishman preferred.

Gill told the Yorkshire Post: “Stuart contacted me and offered to come over in an advisory capacity. We’re considering that and he’d certainly be able to help Danny out who he knows well and has a lot of respect for.

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“Stuart could stay until the end of the season if needed and might also assist us with regards looking for a new coach and players.”

Whether Rangi Chase is still around by the time he potentially arrives next Monday is unlikely.

The gifted England half-back was at his mercurial best on Saturday but speculation is rife the ex-Man of Steel will finally re-join St George Illawarra in the next few days after the NRL club’s long pursuit for his services.

He has been given the weekend to think over the move with his young family but his reaction after this stirring victory – in which local hooker Adam Milner scored the winning try from Chase’s invention and Widnes’s Patrick Ah Van missed a penalty with just 45 seconds remaining – suggests his mind is made up. Chase blew kisses to the Wheldon Road end as he departed with the man-of-the-match champagne having already admitted in a television interview he has a chance to return to the NRL and has “had a great time at Cas”.

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Removing the top-earner from their wage bill will certainly ease Castleford’s suffocating financial problems which were not helped here by a second successive below 4,000 attendance.

They could recruit maybe four solid players to bolster their paperthin squad yet must somehow secure a leading half-back to fill the creative void that will be left if the 27-year-old departs.

Castleford winger Richard Owen scored twice, including one off a brilliant cut-out pass from Chase, yet also had to sweat after his high tackle gave Ah Van that last chance to level.

Ahead of Friday’s Challenge Cup meeting at Leeds Rhinos, he told the Yorkshire Post: “Rangs would be a big miss for any team never mind one like us. It’s just a matter of when he goes really. Everyone knows it’s on the cards. Hopefully we can keep him for another week to face Leeds as some of the things he can do are just unbelievable.”

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Castleford, striving to avoid an eight successive loss, started swiftly, shrugging off the fifth minute loss of captain Michael Shenton after a clash of heads to open up a 12-0 lead.

Orr selected young winger James Clare and he made an impact, twisting over out of three tackles after Chase’s 40/20 attempt bounced back into his arms.

Jordan Tansey’s fine pass saw Owen tip-toe over and, after weeks of downtrodden gloom, Wheldon Road was buzzing again.

However, all the old deficiencies which had blighted Millward’s reign returned as they conceded four tries in just 14 minutes.

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Their middle defence alarmingly disintegrated and stressed Orr must have been contemplating if he really did want this as his next career after all. Paddy Flynn, Rhys Hanbury, Jon Clarke and Cameron Phelps profited, Ah Van thrice converting, before Owen’s second stopped the rot.

However, they allowed Widnes’s restart to bounce dead and then fluffed a drop-out to see Ah Van dive over and make it 26-16 at the break. The second half was a different matter altogether. Craig Huby produced some rattling tackles to fire Castleford up and, with Daz Clark, Milner and Ryan Boyle offering support, their defence was outstanding.

Widnes rarely ventured as far as the hosts’ half, Jordan Thompson got Tigers back in it after Chase’s 40/20 in the 57th minute and then it was Chase’s trickery with the hand that opened them up for Tansey to put Milner over.

Jamie Ellis slotted his fourth conversion to give Orr’s side the lead and, with real grittiness, they held on. Shenton returned to produce a vital tackle with Ellis on Hanbury and then came Ah Van’s dramatic 40m angled failure.

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“It’s a good job he missed,” admitted a relieved Owen. “I think the fans put him off. That win was something we really needed. Danny (Orr) stepped in and did a fantastic job. He got team morale going again, made it a bit of fun and I think it showed on the field.

“It’s given everyone some confidence and now we need to build on it.”

Castleford: Tansey; Clare, Shenton, Thompson, Owen; Chase, Ellis; Mason, Milner, Huby, Holmes, Hauraki, Massey. Substitutes: Walker, Clark, Martin, Boyle.

Widnes: Hanbury; Flynn, Dean, Phelps, Ah Van; Brown, Mellor; O’Carroll, Clarke, Pickersgill, Winterstein, Leuluai, Gerrard. Substitutes: Kavanagh, Joseph, Lawton, White.

Referee: R Silverwood (Dewsbury).