Castleford Tigers: Cas confirm freescoring winger Clare's return to his RL roots

James Clare has returned to Castleford Tigers on a one-year deal.
James Clare. PIC: Courtesy Castleford Tigers RLFCJames Clare. PIC: Courtesy Castleford Tigers RLFC
James Clare. PIC: Courtesy Castleford Tigers RLFC

And the Tigers have an option to extend Clare’s deal by a further year.

The 26-year old winger left the club midway through the 2015 season in order to gain more game time and, after spending 2016 with Bradford Bulls and 2017 with Leigh Centurions, Clare will now move back to where it all started.

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Clare came through the youth system at Castleford after playing amateur rugby for Castleford Lock Lane. He made his debut in 2012 and went on to make 38 appearances for the Tigers, scoring 24 tries before leaving. In 2016, he scored 18 times during 23 games in the Championship for the Bulls.

Daryl Powell. PIC: Jonathan GawthorpeDaryl Powell. PIC: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Daryl Powell. PIC: Jonathan Gawthorpe

Following Bradford’s financial issues, Clare moved to Leigh for the 2017 season but suffered an ACL injury during a pre-season game against Dewsbury and missed most of the year. The winger returned during the Super 8s, scoring six times in five games.

“I’m very excited to be coming back to the Tigers,” said an excited Clare. “Cas is the club that I’ve supported for my entire life so to be back here and to have another chance to pull on this famous shirt is great.

“I’d almost agreed something with another club but I met with [chief exec’] Steve Gill and he let me know they could be an opportunity here. I pushed for the move as much as I could because I knew I always wanted to come back here.”

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Tigers head coach Daryl Powell added “James has strengthened and got bigger physically as a player during his time away from the club and I think he will really challenge the players on the wings to be right on top of their games.

“And I am looking forward to seeing how he goes. He has got a great opportunity now to show us what he is all about.”