Paul Simon Wellens (born 27 February 1980) is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and a former professional

footballer. A

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

England international England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It shares a land border with Scotland to the north and anoth ...

, he played his entire career with St Helens, with whom he won several

championships and

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

titles. Wellens also became only the third player to have won the

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to man of the match in the annual Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was kill ...

Harry Sunderland Trophy The Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final and its predecessors, the RFL First Division Final and the Premiership Final, between 1965 and 2023. Named after Harry Sunderland, who w ...

and the

Man of Steel Award The Steve Prescott Man of Steel Awards is an end-of-season awards dinner for the Super League rugby league competition. The event's name is taken from the main award presented, the Man of Steel award for the rugby league footballer of the year. I ...

Early life

Born in St Helens, Wellens was educated by the

De La Salle Christian Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...

, along with his twin sister Claire who as of 2018 is a Drama teacher at De La Salle.

Playing career

Wellens joined the St. Helens ranks and made his

début in the 1999's

Super League IV JJB Sports Super League IV was the official name for the year 1999's Super League championship season, the 105th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fourth championship run by the Super League. The start of ...

. Success quickly followed and Wellens soon secured his place in perhaps St. Helens strongest era. Wellens became renowned for his all round game, excelling particularly at taking catches. An England call-up followed and with

Kris Radlinski Kristian John Radlinski MBE (born 9 April 1976) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played mainly as a . He is currently CEO of Wigan Warriors whom he played his entire professional career for, making over 300 appeara ...

already established at international level, Wellens displayed his versatility with spells on the and at . A call-up for

ensued, and he made a handful of appearances before being contentiously left out by then coach

David Waite David Waite (born 30 May 1951) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He has also coached Great Britain in the Rugby League Tri-Nations. Background Waite was born in New South Wales, Australia. Waite holds a British passpo ...

, who felt Wellens' form had dipped during this period. Wellens played for St. Helens from the interchange bench in their

1999 Super League Grand Final The 1999 Super League Grand Final was the Second official Grand Final conclusive and championship-deciding game of the Super League IV season. The match was played between St. Helens and Bradford Bulls on Saturday 9 October 1999, at Old Traffor ...

victory over

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

2000s

Having won the 1999 Championship, St Helens contested in the

2000 World Club Challenge The 2000 World Club Challenge was contested by 1999 NRL season premiers, the Melbourne Storm and 1999's Super League IV champions, St. Helens. The match was played on 22 January at JJB Stadium, Wigan before a crowd of 13,394. The Melbourne St ...

against

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Premiers the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

, with Wellens playing at in the loss. Wellens played for St Helens at in their

2000 Super League Grand Final The 2000 Super League Grand Final was the third official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding game of 2000's Super League V. Held on Saturday 14 October 2000 at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between St. Helens ...

victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, and in their

2001 World Club Challenge The 2001 World Club Challenge was contested between Super League V champions, St. Helens and 2000 NRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos made the trip to England to play St Helens before the start of the 2001 NRL and Super Leagu ...

victory against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

. Wellens played for St Helens at fullback in their

2002 Super League Grand Final The 2002 Super League Grand Final was the Fifth official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League VII. Held on Saturday 19 October 2002 at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between St. Helens and Brad ...

victory against

but was forced to leave the field after just two minutes with a broken cheekbone, which ruled him out of Great Britain's international series against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

the following month. With a point to prove, Wellens became one of Super League's most notable performers and made the number 1 jersey his own at international level. His attitude and aptitude to the game earned him a reputation as a model professional. As one of the quieter members of a squad littered with big names and personalities, it was all the more creditable that Wellens earned St Helens player of the season award in 2004 to underline his value at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, establishing himself as one of the fans' favourites. Wellens was selected in the Great Britain team to compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette (brand), Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between October 2004 in sports, 16 October and November 2004 in sports, 27 November of 2004 in sports, 2004. The ...

tournament. He played a starring role at fullback where they defeated World champions

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in game 5 24-12, In the final against

he played at fullback in the Lions' 44–4 loss. In the 2006 season which would see St Helens collect all three major honours at domestic level, Wellens' own form was rewarded with the Rugby League Writers' Association player of the year, Super League players' player of the year and the prestigious

. Wellens played for St Helens at fullback in their

2006 Challenge Cup The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for rugby league's Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, Franc ...

Final victory against

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

. He was also awarded the

as man of the match against

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in 2006's

Super League XI Engage Super League XI was the official name for the year 2006's Super League season in the sport of rugby league in Europe. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X. The competition kicked off the weekend after ...

Grand Final. As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers

in the

2007 World Club Challenge The 2007 Carnegie World Club Challenge was played between Super League XI champions, St. Helens and 2006 National Rugby League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. It was a replay of the 2001 World Club Challenge, and both clubs' fifth WCC appear ...

. Wellens played at fullback in the Saints' 18–14 victory. Paul Wellens

In 2007 Wellens continued his form, but added another dimension to his game by becoming one of the league's top try scorers. This was highlighted in the Millennium Magic weekend victory against rivals

, in which Wellens scored four tries. He was named in the end of season

Super League Dream Team The Super League Dream Team is an annually-selected rugby league All Star Team consisting of the players deemed to have been the best in their respective positions in the Super League competition. The team is selected by a panel of journalists and ...

for the third season running. He also became joint winner of the

award in the 2007 Carnegie Challenge Cup Final against the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, sharing the prize with

Leon Pryce Leon Pryce (born 9 October 1981) is an English rugby league coach and footballer who played as a and in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Great Britain and England national rugby league team, England international back, he previously played for ...

. In the 2008 Challenge Cup Final, Wellens retained the

award. Wellens was selected for the England squad to compete in the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

in Australia. In

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

's first match against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

he played at fullback in England's victory. In January 2009, Wellens played in his own testimonial match against

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

He played in the

2009 Super League Grand Final The 2009 Super League Grand Final was the 12th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIV season. It was held on Saturday 10 October 2009, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by defendi ...

defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

2010s

In 2011, Wellens was named joint captain of St. Helens alongside James Graham. He took over as sole captain following Graham's departure to

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

. He played in the

2011 Super League Grand Final The 2011 Super League Grand Final was the 14th official Grand Final and the championship-deciding game of the Super League XVI season. It was held on Saturday, 8 October at Manchester, England's Old Trafford stadium. The match was contested by ...

defeat by the

. In 2014, Wellens made history by scoring the 1,000th point in his career. St Helens reached the

2014 Super League Grand Final The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014, at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between ...

, and Wellens captained them from fullback in what was a record-equalling 10th grand final appearance. Saints defeated

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

14–6 to win their first Super League title in 8 years, with Wellens lifting the trophy. Following a failure to recover from a long-standing hip injury, Wellens announced his retirement from playing on 24 June 2015. In total he played 495 times for St Helens, in the process winning 5

titles, 5

winners medals, two

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. Super League sides have won the c ...

s, the

, the

, and was named in the

on four occasions.

Coaching career

On 18 February 2023, Wellens coached St Helens to their shock 13-12 victory over Penrith in the

2023 World Club Challenge The 2023 World Club Challenge (known as the 2023 Betfred World Club Challenge for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th staging of the World Club Challenge. The match was contested by the NRL winners Penrith Panthers, and Super League champions S ...

. In his first full season in charge, Wellens guided St Helens to a third placed finish on the table. The club would lose their semi-final match against the

on the full-time siren which ended their four-year reign as champions. Wellens second season in charge of St Helens was a disappointing one with the club finishing sixth on the table, their lowest finish in the Super League era. During the season, the club also lost five games in a row. It was the first time since the Super League era began that the club had lost five consecutive games in the league. St Helens would be eliminated in the playoffs against Warrington in golden point extra-time.

References

External links

Saints Heritage Society profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Wellens Saints Profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
2001 Ashes profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Wonderful Wellens Strikes Four AgainWellens Wins Man of Steel AwardWellens Wins England Call Up
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellens, Paul 1980 births Living people 20th-century English sportsmen 21st-century English sportsmen English rugby league coaches English rugby league players England national rugby league team players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lance Todd Trophy winners Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league wingers St Helens R.F.C. captains St Helens R.F.C. coaches St Helens R.F.C. players