Challenge Cup: Castleford 6-60 Wigan - Warriors cruise past Tigers into semi-finals

Wigan had eight different try scorers at The Jungle

Wigan Warriors reached the last four of the Challenge Cup at Wheldon Road as they blitzed Castleford with 12 tries.

Injury-hit Cas had no answer as rampant Wigan effectively won the game with five tries in the first 23 minutes.

Winger Liam Marshall got two of them, before adding two more after the break.

Abbas Miski got two, Brad O'Neill, Bevan French, Adam Keighran, Kruise Leeming and Tyler Dupree all crossed, while Cas's only points came from Innes Senior's converted late first-half try.

Wigan will now meet Hull KR in May, having been paired together in a repeat of last season's golden-point semi.

But victory came at a cost as Wigan lost forward Willie Isa with a serious injury, a dislocation of his left ankle, which has also broken his leg.

Although Isa will obviously be missing for some time, the two sides will lock horns again next weekend in Super League action at the DW Stadium.

• Wigan face semi-final rematch with Hull KR

Cas had no way back after being stunned by Wigan's early onslaught - the first two tries coming inside the first seven minutes.

Jai Field created a three against two situation for Marshall to get the first try out wide and, although Harry Smith failed to land the touchline conversion, he did better with improving the next two.

Hooker O'Neill cashed in on poor defence to quickly add a second before stand-off Bevan French got on the scoresheet - and further converted tries followed from Marshall and Keighran.

Innes Senior got Castleford's only try against Wigan

Senior got in on the stroke of half-time to pull one back, to which Danny Richardson added the conversion.

That gave Cas some slim hope but Wigan quickly closed the door to book their place in the semi-finals.

Leeming scored the first of seven more unanswered second-half tries as Marshall, who scored a brace against Sheffield Eagles in the last round, doubled his haul to make it six tries against Yorkshire clubs in this season's two Challenge Cup matches.

Wigan winger Liam Marshall (right) has run in six tries in two games in the 2024 Challenge Cup

Saturday's first two quarter-finals

• Hull KR avenge Wembley loss to knock out holders Leigh

• Huddersfield rout Catalans to reach Challenge Cup semis

Castleford boss Craig Lingard:

"If there was ever a game that showed you the bottom of the Super League and top, that was it.

"There are ways to win games and ways to lose games and that was not a way to lose, regardless of the players that we've got.

"It was way too easy. You've got to impose yourself on the game.

"If you start as weak as we did and allow them to score easy tries, as an attacking team your confidence just rises. There are no positives."

Wigan head coach Matt Peet:

"It's job done. It was a decent performance from us, particularly at the start. It looked easy at the end, but we were confident that, if we got the start right, that we would progress.

"The club's got a great history. And we are very hungry to get to Wembley again.

[On Isa's injury] "Willie has dislocated and broke it so we will just find out the extent. It's in and around the lower leg and ankle area.

"You could see from the players' reaction around the tackle, that to call it 'serious' is a fair comment."

Castleford: Broadbent; Hodson, Tasipale, Wood, Senior; Miller, Richardson;, Johnson, Horne, Kibula, Mellor, El-Zakhem, Westerman.

Interchanges: Namo, Robb, Martin, Hindmarsh.

Wigan: Field; Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; French, Smith; Thompson, O'Neill, Dupree, Isa, Farrell, Ellis.

Interchanges: Mago, Leeming, Hill, Nsemba.

Referee: Liam Moore.