Castleford Tigers 8 Leeds Rhinos 10: Chase is over for Tigers as Leeds eye Wembley

THEY said Leeds’s big-match experience would prove the difference and, in the end, it did.

There can be no denying that resilient Castleford Tigers, so full of endeavour, heart and passion, would have deserved a place in the Challenge Cup final against Wigan on August 27.

But those traits alone are not enough to reach Wembley and, in Kevin Sinfield, victorious Leeds had a a consummate veteran of big-match occasions.

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The revered captain has been here before, curling over last-second touchline conversions to send Rhinos into semi-final extra-time against St Helens – and ultimately triumph – before even considering all his remarkable feats in helping the club to four Super League titles.

So, there was an air of impending doom for Castleford supporters when the England star stepped up to kick from wide out after Kallum Watkins’s 73rd-minute try.

It typically sailed over to level the contest and the result was the same when the experienced stand-off was provided with a far simpler penalty early in extra-time to score the crucial ‘golden point’ that sees them closer still to ending their 12-year wait for glory in this famous competition.

However, dejected Castleford will awake this morning wondering how this enthralling contest, in front of 13,158 fans at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium, even reached that added period.

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They will quickly realise, without too much assessment, it was their lack of clinical know-how – not debate about Ryan McGoldrick’s high tackle that created Sinfield’s winning score – which proved so costly.

Kirk Dixon, whose ‘golden point’ kick had seen the Tigers beat Wakefield in the fifth round, slotted a penalty to nudge them 8-2 ahead with just nine minutes remaining and it was a time for pragmatism and composure.

Instead, Ben Davies, the young prop ironically on loan from Wigan, immediately produced a foolish forward pass coming away from his own line to present predatory Leeds with an instant chance to respond.

Castleford, with industrious forwards Paul Jackson and Stuart Jones outstanding all afternoon, had repelled plenty already as their more illustrious rivals poured forward but, this time, they could resist no more.

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Some smart play from Chris Clarkson allowed Weller Hauraki to produce a stunning flick pass further wide for Watkins and they were cracked at last.

Sinfield thought he was going to win it in normal time when he lined up a drop-goal but more tireless Tigers chasing saw him instead have to switch the ball wide where Danny McGuire’s grubber came to nothing.

With just two minutes remaining, the captain did get his kick away but this time Danny Orr – the Castleford captain – heroically charged him down and set off for the other goal-line.

At 33, and with speedy tyros Ben Jones-Bishop and Watkins chasing him down, the veteran scrum-half did well to get within 40m of his intended target.

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It was enough to set up position for their own drop-goal attempt but this time it was Orr who was at fault when, on the fourth tackle, he ran himself and was caught in the tackle.

Ordinarily, with just seconds remaining, you would put your mortgage on their principal kicker being the man to put his home-town through to Wembley for the first time since 1992.

Instead, he was out of the picture and the chance instead went to Rangi Chase who, from in front, agonisingly skewed to the left of the posts with a lethargic attempt allowing relieved Leeds that chance to take the game into extra-time.

Chase had lit up the match with his glorious 80m try in the 44th minute, just moments after Castleford’s scramble defence had brilliantly denied Carl Ablett in the corner.

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All the pre-match build-up had centred on whether the mercurial Kiwi would be back in time to play since he was due in court in Australia last week but it emerged his appearance was postponed and he instead flew out last night after being allowed to grace this semi-final.

During the first half, Chase seemed like he had actually made the mammoth return journey and was suffering from jet-lag such was his subdued, out-of-sorts display.

But then he broke clear outside of Clarkson and turned Brent Webb inside and out down the touchline to score a wonderful try that put his side 4-2 ahead, Sinfield having scored the only points of the first half with a 24th-minute penalty, Ablett and Jamie Jones-Buchanan both seeing efforts chalked off for forward passes.

Dixon could not convert but added his first penalty in the 53rd minute – plenty of the Castleford players thought they should have gone for the jugular instead of the posts – and his second soon after to put them in sight of a famous victory.

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However, after Watkins’s response, Sinfield had other ideas when he made the initial break to set up position for McGuire to speed clear, only to be denied by McGoldrick’s costly high tackle.

Castleford Tigers: McGoldrick; Dixon, Youngquest, Arundel, Owen; Chase, Orr; Jackson, Milner, Parker, Ferres, Jones, Aspinwall. Substitutes: Hudson, Isa, Thompson, Davies.

Leeds Rhinos: Webb; Jobes-Bishop, Watkins, Ablett, Hall; Sinfield, Burrow; Leuluai, Buderus, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Delaney, Clarkson. Substitutes: McGuire, Bailey, Kirke, Hauraki.

Referee: B Thaler (Warrington).