Castleford Tigers’ greatest transfer of the Super League era

Being able to spot a talent and nurture them into an incredible player takes some doing.

But, sometimes that talent is all natural – and Castleford Tigers’ greatest buy of the Super League era was just that.

Rangi Chase spent an incredible five years at the Jungle, scoring 47 tries in 129 appearances and etching himself into the club’s folklore with eye-catching moments that could never have been pulled off by any other player.

Skipping across the defensive line with bags of tricks that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a circus and a passion of wearing his heart on his sleeve, Chase perhaps provided the greatest magic that the Jungle terraces have ever seen.

Ever the dazzlingly-inventive halfback, Chase won the Man of Steel in 2011 – the greatest individual accolade a Super League players can win – and he had previously told Serious About Rugby League that he loved working under both Terry Matterson and Daryl Powell.

“I was a nobody when I went to Castleford and I became somebody and started achieving my goals and my dreams.

“My rugby league over here kicked off and it was awesome working under both.

“With Terry (Matterson) they didn’t have much staff and I got on great with Terry, I had a good relationship with him.

“He trusted me and let me play how I wanted to play – he would ask me how we would play as a team and valued my opinion, so I played great under him.

“Daryl was the same, he was tactically the best coach I’ve played under – he really studied the game and opposition.

“Him and his assistant Ryan Sheridan, they were students of the game and constantly studied the opposition.”

Chase left the Jungle at the end of 2013 a hero, though that was overshadowed by his messy exit and transfer to the Salford Red Devils.

No one could begrudge the former New Zealand and England international an incredible deal for his young family, however, and he enjoyed a number of years at the AJ Bell Stadium.

However, an incredible reunion in 2016 saw the Prodigal Son come home – if even for just months.

The legacy that Chase left amongst fans is unrivalled – every child wanted to be Rangi, not knowing what he was going to do next and throwing out every move in the book to fool his opponents.

That also meant that the halfback himself did not know what he was going to do next either, but that didn’t seem to matter as he could always rely on his skill and talent to get one over on his rivals.

A wonderful, talented rugby player with an incredible humility, Chase’s only real negative at Castleford was the fact that he couldn’t inspire the West Yorkshire club to silverware glory.

However, the diminutive playmaker left so many memories at the Jungle that still live on today, and, for that, Chase takes the crown as Castleford’s greatest ever transfer of the Super League era.