St Helens Coach Left “Shocked” by Lack of Desire in Challenge Cup Defeat
In the aftermath of St Helens’ 31-8 defeat to Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, head coach Paul Wellens expressed his surprise and disappointment with his side’s performance. Speaking to reporters after the match, Wellens shared what “shocked” him and left him questioning his players’ desire.
“What we’ve got to understand is that teams don’t come here now and roll over and have their bellies tickled,” Wellens said. “You’ve got to earn everything. If that means for 10 minutes rolling your sleeves up and the opponents are flying off the line, be prepared to get whacked. That’s the game.”
Wellens felt his team lacked the necessary intensity and aggression, stating, “We haven’t got quite enough of that at the moment.” He also criticized his players’ decision-making, with forced passes and missed opportunities proving costly.
The coach emphasized the need for his experienced players to provide leadership and composure, particularly when the game was still close at 13-8. “You need cool heads, you need calmness, you need clarity,” Wellens said. “I thought what we did today was we looked like we were just continuously trying to chase points.”
One particular moment that left Wellens “shocked” was St Helens’ decision to attempt a short drop-out with 18 minutes remaining. “That’s not us. I’m not saying that’s a poor tactic. Some teams do it, some teams don’t. We don’t,” he explained. “We kick the ball longer, we’re aggressive in D, we work hard, we get the ball back on the floor, we come after them again.”
Wellens believes this decision was a reflection of his team’s mindset, suggesting they were “almost wanting things to come a bit easy.”
St Helens will look to bounce back when they host Hull FC at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Friday night.
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