CHRIS Chester believes Castleford Tigers find themselves in a similar situation to when he took over at their near neighbours as he eyes a turnaround in fortunes in 2026.
The 46-year-old joined Cas as director rugby in May and has been serving as interim head coach since July 7 when Danny McGuire was sacked, although the Tigers have won only once in 10 games since then and slipped to 11th in the table, with last Thursday’s 46-6 loss to Leigh Leopards the latest defeat.
The situation reminds Chester of when he took over at Wakefield Trinity, who Castleford host in a derby clash on Friday night, in 2016 and while that comparison to their rivals might not be welcomed by some fans, they will at least hope he can effect a similar turnaround in fortunes.
“It’s very similar to when I walked in at Wakefield Trinity, to be honest,” Chester told Sky Sports.
“I knew what kind of job I was taking on, and I didn’t envisage being the coach for the last however many games.
“But I’m really confident in the people that we’ve put together on and off the field for next year, and we’ll be a much better version of Castleford Tigers which the town of Castleford deserve.”
Chester’s spell as Wakefield head coach saw him guide the West Yorkshire outfit to a Challenge Cup semi-final in his first year, followed by consecutive fifth-place finishes in 2017 and 2018 after surviving the Million Pound Game in 2015 under Brian Smith.
The former Scotland international forward was dismissed in August 2021 and had been serving as director of rugby at Leigh Leopards prior to joining Cas in a similar role.
Chester was praised for his recruitment work with the high-flying Leopards and is set to return to his off-field role at the end of this season, with former Featherstone Rovers hooker Ryan Carr joining as McGuire’s replacement for 2026.
Cas have already signed Fijian winger Mikaele Ravalawa on a three-year deal from NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons for the new campaign too, with Chester promising more signings to be announced soon.
But the final three rounds of Super League regular season, which include clashes with play-off contenders Wigan Warriors and St Helens, are an opportunity to set things up for when Carr arrives for the start of pre-season training.
“It’s a dress rehersal, these next four weeks,” Chester said.
“I know Ryan has watched the last four weeks, and he knows he’s got a hell of a job on turn things around.
“It’s my job to make sure I supply him with the best players available and there are probably five or six more [announcements] over the coming weeks.
“We’ve got to get away from feeling sorry for ourselves and just individually being a hell of a lot better than we were [against Leigh], and collectively.”
Discussion about this post