A surprise home loss to Castleford Tigers has seen St Helens head coach Paul Wellens point the finger at his players for failing to execute, even arguing that debutants Jonny Vaughan and Jake Burns were “probably let down by a lot of their teammates”.
It marks the second narrow defeat in a row for Saints after the 20-18 loss to Salford in Round 15 but an 8-6 defeat at home to ninth-placed Castleford Tigers will sting a lot more, especially given the fact Paul Wellens’ side beat the Tigers at The Jungle 60-4 just a few weeks ago.
That win at The Jungle saw Saints run in 52 unanswered points in the second half and with the score just 4-0 at halftime last night, there will have been worries in the Castleford dressing room that a collapse was on the way. However, it never came with St Helens players casting frustrated figures and making countless errors to allow Craig Lingard’s team back into the game.
Paul Wellens has questioned the behavior and mindset of some of those St Helens players, claiming that not enough players honor the “privilege” of wearing a Saints shirt. In addition, he criticized the players for not sticking to the strategy, which made him blame them for the defeat.
Nevertheless, a significant number of St Helens supporters are convinced that Paul Wellens is to blame, as seen by the loud and persistent cries for his dismissal that were heard last night at The Totally Wicked Stadium and on social media, where jeers broke out at the last hooter.
Despite the fact that nine first-team players were absent from the team that lost yesterday night, Paul Wellens insisted that there was sufficient quality to win the match. Young Sam Royle, who scored the only try for the Red Vee, displayed some of that quality, but Wellens has stated that Royle and rookies Jake Burns and Jonny Vaughan were let down by their teammates.
Speaking to the media, Paul Wellens explained: “Every time you get the chance to pull on this jersey, it’s a privilege and you’ve got to play as though it is. We have too many at the moment who don’t seem to do that.
“Two young kids, you’re never going to lack energy on your debut are you? They were probably let down by a lot of their teammates tonight.”
st Helen’sPaul Wellens blames the St. Helens players for the shocking loss, saying, “That’s on them.” Sam CookeJuly 6, 2024
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A surprise home loss to Castleford Tigers has seen St Helens head coach Paul Wellens point the finger at his players for failing to execute, even arguing that debutants Jonny Vaughan and Jake Burns were “probably let down by a lot of their teammates”.
It marks the second narrow defeat in a row for Saints after the 20-18 loss to Salford in Round 15 but an 8-6 defeat at home to ninth-placed Castleford Tigers will sting a lot more, especially given the fact Paul Wellens’ side beat the Tigers at The Jungle 60-4 just a few weeks ago.
“We didn’t follow through on that tonight; we didn’t do that.” It is our responsibility if we follow a set strategy and don’t succeed. However, it is their fault whether the players follow our game plan and don’t follow it. They must acknowledge that.
St Helens’ next three games are against Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, and Leigh Leopards, three teams who might cause Paul Wellens even more problems, so it doesn’t seem like things will get any easier for them.
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