By Chris Foy for the Daily Mail Follow @@FoyChris They thronged Wheldon Road in their thousands, adorned in replica shirts and scarves, waving flags as the Tigers emerged from The Jungle for their historic journey south. It was a fittingly raucous send-off. Castleford haven’t been to Wembley for 22 years, so when the coach carrying players and staff left their ground on Thursday, it was as if half of the West Yorkshire town had come along to wave them on their way. They crawled through the crowds before heading for the M1 and London. Challenge Cup fever was plain to see ahead of Saturday’s clash with big-city neighbours Leeds. The British sporting staple of haves versus have-nots had captured the imagination of the public. These Tigers may go into the showpiece fixture as underdogs, but they will have close to 25,000 fans urging them to upset the odds at the home of English football.
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Castleford supporters gathered in their thousands to wave the team off
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The fans wore  replica shirts and scarves, and waved flags enthusiastically
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The Tigers take on Leeds Rhinos in Saturday's final
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They haven’t been to Wembley for 22 years and are underdogs for the match
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25,000 Castleford supporters are expected
At the official club shop, they had run out of @placeholder kits for the first time ever — with the white away shirt selling well as it is the one the players will wear today, as their triumphant predecessors did in 1969-70.