Castleford Tigers’ Alex Foster donates flowing locks for worthy causes

As a robust second-row, he needs all that power to underpin his all-action game.

He is, though, handing strength to others given the locks he had cut off yesterday will now help form hair for children who may have suffered losing their own due to illness.

Foster, 26, had started growing his around two-and-a-half years ago in aid of two charities.

Talking to The Yorkshire Post last night he explained: “I began growing it with the goal of getting it to 12 inches in length as that is when you can donate it to the Little Princess Trust.

“It’s a great charity which helps provide real hair for wigs for children who have gone through cancer treatment or alopecia.

“There was nothing in particular which made me choose that as a charity but I do have a close family member who went through alopecia in their teenage years.

“It didn’t make me understand – you can only understand that if you go through it yourself – but it gave me an inkling of what it must be like to lose your hair like that and it is one reason why I wanted to do this.

“The hair has gone there along with 50 per cent of the money raised. The other 50 per cent has gone to The Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract. That’s the club’s charity partner and Cas do a lot of work with them.

“It’s a fantastic hospice and I’ve been down plenty of times to pay visits there. They do great work.”

As of last night, Foster’s haircut had helped raise more than £2,000.

“The initial target was £1,200 but we smashed that on the first day so we increased it to £2,000,” he said.

“It was great to see us get past that today, just before I had my hair chopped. It was up to £2,080 the last time I checked so it’s really pleasing and thanks to everyone who has donated.

“Things are feeling a bit cooler now! It’s very much like a short back and sides. It’s grade two on top which is very short for me.

“It’s very breezy. And I do miss it already. But it wasn’t practical when playing – it got pulled a lot and ended up in my eyes!”

As much as donating his hair will undoubtedly help children get through tough times, the former Leeds Rhinos and London Broncos player has had to show mental fortitude himself to get through some testing challenges of his own.

Foster, who was born in Gloucester but raised in Knaresborough and started playing with Wetherby Bulldogs, has not featured since the 
21-20 defeat at Leeds Rhinos last March.

He suffered a knee injury which needed extensive surgery and was the latest in a line of setbacks. Foster is now fit – but his comeback has been halted with Super League suspended on Monday until April 3 due to the coronavirus.

He said: “I was due to play this week. Whether it would be reserves or first team we weren’t sure but that was the plan. It would be nearly a year since I last played but, because of this suspension, it will now be more than a year when I do play.

“That’s a bit more disappointing for me as it means I didn’t get back within the time-frame I’d set but it does give me more time now to catch up and get a bit closer to the rest of the squad’s fitness.”

Foster, who helped Castleford to the League Leaders’ Shield and scored in the Grand Final in 2017 having only initially joined on trial following Bradford Bulls’ liquidation, conceded: “It’s been incredibly frustrating.

“And very difficult. I missed the back end of the 2018 season with a foot injury and so to come back and only play seven games before being ruled out for most of 2019, it was very much a challenge to me.

“The psychological side of things is something you don’t really understand, put in that position where you are having to change your goals and looking to try and get back fit but only with baby steps.

“I was going pretty well. I’d had a few call-ups to the England Knights squad and it would have been a dream come true if I could have gone away to Papua New Guinea with them at the end of 2018 and maybe even played that game last year, too, against Jamaica.

“But I missed out loads with Cas, too, not being able to be part of some great performances but also helping them in the losses. I feel like I’ve missed a lot of rugby and I’ve a lot to make up for.”

His time will come. In the meantime, Tigers are joint-top after Sunday’s win over St Helens and Foster said: “It’s been a fantastic start.

“The boys have done really, really well and the new lads have all really added a lot especially Danny (Richardson) in the halves. He was great against St Helens and really showed them what they are missing out on by letting him join us.”