Chambers, a Londoner shunned by many in his own sport of athletics after serving a two-year drugs ban, brought a media storm down on the RL club and the unsuspecting town.

For the month or so Chambers' trial with Tigers lasted, he was probably the most famous rugby league player in the world.

Eventually, he played one specially-arranged reserve team game – in front of a crowd of thousands – before returning down south a wiser man, if not in possession of the £60,000 contract he had been seeking.

Almost a year on, Chambers is set to revisit West Yorkshire – and Castleford in particular – on a tour to promote his newly-published autobiography, Race Against Me: My Story.

And, unlike former Bradford Bulls star Ian Henderson – who recently dismissed Cas as one of the worst places in the country – Chambers has nothing but fond memories of his time there.

"There's a lot about Castleford in the book," said Chambers. "It's about my acceptance from the fans and the change of direction while I was there. I met a bunch of great guys, one of whom stood out, Goldy (Ryan McGoldrick).

"We got on really well, comparing tattoos and all that sort of stuff. Being at Castleford was a great experience, the fans were great and the atmosphere was different. That's what I wanted, a change.

"The air is a lot fresher than London and the people up there supported me. They showed they are a lot more forgiving than most. It was good to gain their acceptance and the crowd's recognition."

Neither the fans who queued down Wheldon Road to get in nor Chambers himself will forget his one and only taste of competitive rugby league.

He saw little of the ball, but endeared himself to everybody present with his willingness to get stuck in – though he obviously found both stamina and the physical side of the game tough to adapt to.

He recalled: "I enjoyed every moment of it. I didn't have great expectations, because I had only been practising the game a month, but I got stuck in, the other players respected me and I respected them.

"I wanted to go out and have fun and I did. I didn't play that long because I'm not a rugby player, but I went out and tried and we had a great win, which was the most important thing."

That admission draws a line under Chambers' aspirations of making it in the 13-a-side code.

"The rugby has been put on one side now," he admitted. "It was part of my time trying to find my feet and trying to find a new direction in my life and a new way of providing for my family. I don't have any regrets. You have to go out and try things, that's the only way to know what's going to be good or bad for you. Some things you do are costly, but you learn a lot about yourself.

"My experience in rugby was great and I have taken positives from it. My appreciation of rugby league has increased 10-fold since I was at Castleford and I watch it a lot more.

"I'm still a great fan and I have a better respect and a better knowledge of the game than I did in the past, because I've played it.
"In the past I'd have turned it off because I didn't understand it. Now I have the patience to sit down and watch it."

Though his playing days are over, Chambers is keen to coach rugby players in the future. He is already working with one of Harlequins' emerging youngsters and he said: "We work on his ability and his speed.

"Because of my experience, I want to coach players from rugby. We are all athletes and speed kills in all sports. If we can improve a rugby player's ability to move off the line, he is going to cause a lot of damage."

For the most part, though, Chambers' focus is now back on his sprinting. He struck gold in the European Indoor Championships last weekend and the World Championships in Berlin are now just around the corner.

"I fell in love with rugby," he said. "I couldn't have asked for any more from the experience I had at Castleford. It's just a shame the opportunity to take it further didn't materialise. But it reinforced to me that I am a sprinter at heart. I'm enjoying my sport again. I remain optimistic about my future – I just want to have fun."

Chambers said he had kept in touch with some of the people he came across during his few weeks in Castleford and he plans to meet up with them during his book tour.

He will be signing copies of the book at the club's Castleford town centre shop on Saturday, before attending that evening's Super League home game against Huddersfield Giants.

Chambers added: "Writing the book was very therapeutic. It allowed me to get a lot of c**p out of my system.

"A lot of the stuff I wanted to put in there I couldn't, for legal reasons, but it's good to let the readers see things from my point of view."