JACQUES O’NEILL is back at the Castleford Tigers following a year’s hiatus from rugby league.
During that year off, O’Neill took ITV2 show Love Island by storm before maintaining himself in the public eye with celebrity events and meetings.
Now, it’s up to Castleford’s new head coach Andy Last to prepare the 23-year-old to become a professional rugby league player once more.
“It’s a difficult one, he has a bit of work to do. He has been out of the rigours of full-time rugby league for a fair while now,” Last said.
“We have to build Jacques – in terms of being a rugby league athlete – back up to what he was before. Obviously he’s got a lovely six pack and a tan and a nice fade but that’s all for the Love Island show and the celebrity opening events.
“What we need to do with Jacques is we need to be patient with him and build his body to being a rugby player and get that robustness back into him.”
That being said, Last has hailed the impact of O’Neill around The Jungle in terms of his energy and enthusiasm.
“He has brought energy to the group and he doesn’t hold back when he does train. We have to manage him the right way and we will hopefully see him out on the field sooner rather than later.
“The plan is to get him some games with the reserves and if he plays well then there will be consideration for him to play in Super League.”
O’Neill has played for the Tigers since coming through the ranks as a teenager. Hailing from Cumbria, the 23-year-old made quite the impression in his first spell at the West Yorkshire club, earning a reputation for himself as a nuggety, tough young forward.
