Castleford Tigers' remarkable ability to upset the odds against the engage Super League's leading lights could be in evidence again this evening when the bottom club travel to Headingley Carnegie hoping to complete a shock double over Leeds Rhinos. Their cause will be helped by Tony Smith's decision to include six Rhinos players in the England team who took on France in Toulouse last night, while a seventh, Éric Anselme, lined up for the home team.

Terry Matterson, the Castleford coach, has engineered victories over St Helens and Warrington Wolves, as well as a 38-20 triumph against Leeds in March and last week's draw with Wigan Warriors. He will be boosted by the possible return of Joe Westerman, 18, the loose forward, who will fly back from Toulouse this morning before making a dash to Leeds, having been omitted from Smith's line-up. “I've named him in the 19-man squad, but there's no pressure on him to play,” Matterson said. “We'll assess things when he gets back.”

Westerman's talents have drawn comparisons to Paul Sculthorpe and a World Cup place could be within his grasp, despite missing out last night. “It would have been nice for Joe to play this time, but I'm sure that his chance will come,” Matterson said. “The experience of being part of the international set-up won't have done him any harm. He will now know how things work and will have mixed with some of the best players in the game and that will benefit him the next time he is called up.”

Brian McClennan, the Leeds coach, is familiar with the demands of international rugby league after a two-year stint in charge of New Zealand and has resisted the temptation to ask his England players to play twice in less than 24 hours. That leaves a squad already depleted by the loss of Carl Ablett to injury and Nick Scruton to suspension looking threadbare.

McClennan will be forced to call on a number of promising young players. The Rhinos' 19-man squad has an average age of 23 and includes two players - Joe Chandler and Michael Haley - who have yet to make their Super League debuts, although Ali Lauitiiti returns to action five weeks after suffering a knee injury against Bradford Bulls. “They've been working me overtime and I'm probably a couple of kilos lighter than when I last played,” Lauitiiti said. “My problem is that I have a sweet tooth, but I've targeted this game for a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to it.”

Matterson, however, is refusing to underestimate the leaders' threat. “Leeds have a strong squad with some very talented youngsters who they can draft in and they will be keen to make their mark,” he said. “Last week's draw against Wigan gave us a boost, even though we felt we could have won, but Leeds will want revenge after our win [in March], so we know we're in for a battle.”

St Helens face similar difficulties to Leeds tomorrow, when they host Huddersfield Giants less than 48 hours after having seven players involved in the England squad. Shontayne Hape makes his final appearance for Bradford before switching codes and joining Bath when the Bulls entertain Hull Kingston Rovers.