| Leeds(0) 16 |
| Tries: Martin 2, Sutcliffe Goals: Martin 2 |
| Castleford(28) 40 |
| Tries:Trueman, Mamo, O’Brien, Turner, Lawler, Eden 2 Goals:O’Brien 6 |
Rampant Castleford tore Leeds apart with a seven-try blitz to secure a resounding win at Headingley.
The Tigers, who were beaten finalists last season, ran in five unanswered tries before half-time.
Leeds fought back, with Rhyse Martin going over twice to reduce the deficit to 18 points.
But Greg Eden replied with two tries as Cas clinched their first Challenge Cup success over Leeds since 1998.
Castleford ripped through the Rhinos’ ragged defence time and again in the first half, with Jacob Trueman and Jake Mamo bursting clear before Gareth O’Brien forced his way over for a third try.
The outlook became even gloomier for Leeds before half-time as Brad Dwyer was sin-binned for a trip – and the visitors capitalised on the extra space to stretch their lead to 28-0 with tries by Jordan Turner and George Lawler.
Interim Leeds coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan appeared to galvanise his troops at the interval and they responded with back-to-back scores from Martin and Liam Sutcliffe.
However, Eden intercepted Aidan Sezer’s stray ball to keep Castleford on track and the full-back added gloss to their victory with his second try three minutes from time.
Leeds: Walker, Tindall, Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Handley, Austin, Sezer, O’Connor, Bentley, Martin, Oledzki, Leeming, Prior.
Interchanges: Dwyer, Smith, Gannon, Donaldson.
Castleford: Evalds, Turner, Mamo, Eden, Faraimo, Trueman, Westerman, O’Brien, McShane, Lawler, Edwards, Griffin, Smith.
Interchanges: Watts, Milner, Massey, Fonua.
Referee: L. Moore.
