St Helens legend Paul Wellens announced his retirement last week due to a longstanding hip injury which requires immediate surgery.
Wellens has been lauded as the greatest full-back of the Super League era and whether you agree with that opinion, expressed by Jamie Peacock among others, or not there is no doubt that he has served his club and country outstandingly well.
Wellens will rightly go down as one of the best players ever to pull on a St Helens shirt. Statistics don’t tell the full story, either.
Wellens’ career has consisted of 495 club games for his beloved Saints, 231 tries, two Lance Todd Trophies, the Harry Sunderland Trophy, the 2006 Man of Steel Award, four selections for the mythical Super League Dream Team, 10 grand final appearances with five winners rings, five Challenge Cup winners medals and two World Club Challenge wins.
He has also notched 20 appearances for Great Britain and 11 for England, it is a hugely impressive list. But the esteem with which Wellens is held within the British game and the respect and affection that has been expressed towards him since he announced his retirement is even more impressive.
As a fan, Wellens was never a player that you felt overly concerned about your team coming up against.
He wasn’t the type of player that would rip a team apart from full-back like Sam Tomkins can – his play was more intuitive. He would pop up in the right place at the right time to take a try scoring pass, his support play was second to none and he always seemed to know what was going to unfold in front of him before anyone else did.
Add in rock solid defence, the ability to read a break and track an attacking player down and make brilliant cover tackles, coolness under the high ball and the ability to lead a team to grand final glory against the odds, and you have a player every fan and opponent respected.
Wellens was a player very much in the mould of the Manchester United and England footballer Paul Scholes, he never courted publicity or controversy, was committed to the cause of his one and only club, acted professionally at all times, demanded excellence, inspired the players around him and was a great role model for the next generation of professional rugby league players.
And that is why St Helens and rugby league in general must ensure that Paul Wellens is given a role within the game that can inspire and mould the next generation, to show what can be done through sheer hard work, professionalism and the will to succeed.
I am sure St Helens will already have a job lined up for him but it is also an opportunity for the Rugby Football League to use him as an ambassador and a mentor as well – such is the reputation of the man throughout the game.
All the best Paul.
You can follow the author on Twitter @sharpster69
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