Paul Wellens

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Paul Wellens
Paul Wellens
Personal information
Full name Paul Wellens
Date of birth February 27, 1980 (1980-02-27) (age 28)
Place of birth St Helens, Merseyside, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 15 st 2 lbs (96 kg)
Nickname(s) Wello
Club information
Position(s) Full-back
Current club St Helens
Number 1
Youth clubs
Years Club
Blackbrook
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1998 ‐ St Helens 292 (599)
Representative teams
1999 ‐
1999 ‐		 England
Great Britain		 13
16

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Paul Wellens, (born 27th February, 1980 in St Helens, Merseyside) is an English rugby league player. Wellens plays for St Helens in the European Super League. Wellens is a Great Britain and England international. Paul Wellens' usual position is full-back.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Wellens broke through the St Helens RFC ranks to make his debut in the 1999 season. Success quickly followed and Wellens soon secured his place in what was a strong team. Wellens is known for his dependability and all round game, Wellens steadily gained admirers throughout the sport with consistently sturdy performances, showing maturity beyond his years.

[edit] International debut

An England call up followed and with full back Kris Radlinski already established at international level, Wellens displayed his versatility with spells on the wing and at centre. A call up for Great Britain ensued, and he made a handful of appearances before being contentiously left out by then coach David Waite, who felt Wellens’ form had dipped during this period.

[edit] 2000 to 2002

[edit] 2003 to 2005

With a point to prove, Wellens has been one of Super League’s most notable performers since and has made the number 1 jersey his own for his country. His attitude and aptitude to the game earned him a reputation as a model professional. While he is considered less glamorous than some of his colleagues, Wellens earned the player of the season award at Saints in 2004 to underline his value at Knowsley Road, establishing himself as one of the fans' favourites.

[edit] 2006 onwards

2006 was to be a remarkable season that would see him stand alone as Super League’s finest. In a season that would see St Helens collect all three major honours at domestic level, Wellens' own form was to be rewarded with the Rugby League Writers' Association player of the year, Super League players' player of the year and the prestigious Man of Steel Award. Wellens was also awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man of the match against Hull FC in the Super League XI Grand Final in 2006.

Wellens has seemingly picked up where he left off last season for the current 2007 Super League, again performing consistently well and making himself one of the book makers favourites for the prestigious Man of Steel award. In the instance of Paul Wellens winning the 2007 Man of Steel award he would become the second player in history to earn back to back awards along with St Helens loose forward and former Great Britain Captain Paul Sculthorpe.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
St Helens RFC – current squad

1 Wellens • 2 Gardner • 3 Gidley • 4 Talau • 5 Meli • 6 Pryce • 7 Long • 8 Fozzard • 9 Cunningham • 10 Cayless • 11 Gilmour • 12 Wilkin • 13 Sculthorpe • 14 Roby • 15 Bennett • 16 Flannery • 17 Graham • 18 Hargreaves • 19 Hardman • 20 Smith • 21 Clough • 22 Tyrer • 23 Fa'asavalu • 24 Eastmond • 25 Wheeler • 26 Frodsham • 27 Dean •  McGilvray • 29 Thompson • Coach: Daniel Anderson