Rangi Chase is fully aware that he has failed to fulfil his undoubted potential throughout large portions of his career but, while preparing for his second debut for Castleford on Sunday, he says that his return to the Tigers could rejuvenate his standing in the game.
Chase is in Castleford’s squad to face Catalans as the player and the club look to rescue a season that has quickly gone off the boil. Chase started the year as a pivotal part of the Leigh side aiming to win promotion to Super League, but he left in May having played five games. Castleford, tipped by many as outsiders for the title, find themselves in eighth place as the Super 8s approach.
Chase insists that despite his difficult time since leaving Castleford in 2013, he is ready to repay the faith shown in him by the Tigers after they handed him a deal until the end of the season. “I’m honoured to have another chance because most people would have turned their back on me: I haven’t lived up to what I can do at times,” he said. “I’m delighted to come back to a place that has a big place in my heart.”
Daryl Powell, the Castleford coach, remains coy on whether the half-back could be included on Sunday – he has not played for more than two months – but believes that a return to familiar surroundings can bring the best out of a player who was Man of Steel five years ago. “If we can get him back to anywhere near the level he was back then we’ll have a phenomenal player on our hands,” Powell says.
“Time will tell about how good Rangi is in terms of getting back to his very best, but I think he’s very capable of that.”
Chase endured tumultuous exits from Salford and Leigh in the past 12 months, subsequently revealing a struggle with depression. In this, the annual State of Mind round to raise awareness of mental health issues in rugby league, Chase insists he can make his second spell with Castleford as successful as the first. “The opportunity to come back here was about playing, not money,” he says. “I’ve been kidding myself in the past saying I was OK, but this time I feel genuinely good. I’m blessed to be back at Castleford and I’m ready to go.”
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