Drug cheat Dwain Chambers has got a trial with rugby league side Castleford and I cannot see this ending well. After being suspended from athletics for two years for testing positive for a banned substance, he made his comeback to win 60m silver at last month's World Indoor Championships. He was supposed to be appealing a lifetime ban imposed by the British Olympic Association but seems to have shifted his focus to rugby league.
Now being able to run very fast in a straight line is one thing, but trying to run at that speed against 13 man mountains who all want to introduce themselves to you could end up being quite painful. He has the physical build to be successful at this but not having played the game before, I don’t see how he is going to utilize his pace. When Chambers was unveiled by Castleford recently, he was questioned by the gathered press about his knowledge of the game. Sadly, he didn’t even know how many players make up a league team (its 13) and it’s not a game he has played before which means that he has to learn the basics first. Chambers tried his hand at American Football with Hamburg Sea Devils and that didn’t work out either. He has said that he has a family and that he needs to assess his options to earn money especially since he has been banned from competing in the lucrative European Athletics meetings. Which raises the question, is this all about money for Chambers or is he determined to right the past wrongs?
The only way I can see Dwain succeeding in rugby league is if he has a very intelligent centre outside him who can create the space and time for him to use his pace. However, I don’t think Castleford have anyone of that caliber or else they would not be bottom of the league. Many ex players and authorities on the game have voiced their disapproval at Chambers joining a rugby league side as they say it’s bad for the image of the game they are trying to promote. This is a hole that Chambers dug for himself when he notoriously said that ’you can’t win anything without drugs’. Does that mean that he will be happy just cruising along in the team not winning or will he take something else to be a winner?
If his trial period is successful and he does make the Castleford first team, I’m sure he will feel the effects of the reputed ‘toughest game on earth’ but I don’t see him being around for very long.