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Sky Sports Rugby League John Wilkin says the departure of St Helens head coach Paul Rowley did not surprise him, saying Saints fans voted with their feet during a “weird time” for the club.
Such news came out on Thursday morning Rowley immediately left St. HelensA day before the club’s big Super League derby clash To Wigan which they eventually lost heavily 38-16.
Indeed, Rowley had already named his squad for the competition, nine months and 23 games into his sacking, the shortest ever St Helens coaching stint and the shortest in English rugby league for more than 50 years.
“I’m not surprised,” Wilkin, who played for St Helens for 16 years, said. “I think the writing is on the wall for Paul Rowley at St Helens.
“The biggest thing about Rowley’s death was the presence of the Catalans in the game.
“This is a club struggling to make ends meet and under all sorts of financial pressure, and when the fans voted with their feet, and the opposition and vitriol they showed to the appointment of Paul Rowley from the beginning of the year when he was at the top, the writing was on the wall.
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Highlights of the Super League match between Wigan Warriors and St Helens
“For me, the fans are not only happy with the change in team material, team personnel, style of play and strategy from the champion club.
“In 2024, the average at home games is 13,000, and in 2025 it’s down to 11,000. And tonight at Wigan, in a stand that holds 5,500, there’s only 1,700. Every time I’ve played here, that stand has been full.
“It’s a lack of engagement with the fans. And I think there’s a disconnect between the players and the fans as well.”
Paul Rowley’s timeline has been in charge at St Helens for nine months
Wilkin: It’s a strange time for this great club St Helens ‘I find it very sad’
From John Wilkin of Sky Sports Rugby League some of his former clubs in other states:
“If you think, just nine months into his (Rowley’s) tenure, that he can’t get a tune out of the players and he’s got a broken team, he’s had a lot of challenges, but if they have to change coaches to get a team of players to go to the play-offs, I’m sorry.
“I’ve been at St Helens for 16 years; that’s the most un-St Helens thing I’ve ever said.
“‘We need to change our coach now to get to the playoffs and motivate our players.’ It’s a strange time at this great club.
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St Helens interim head coach Eamonn O’Connell was proud of his side despite a heavy loss to rivals Wigan.
“It’s a tragic situation. But I can’t imagine they made this call without a plan.
“They’re making some loose decisions at the moment, it’s safe to say.
They need a big personality, who gets a big club, to excite the fans and players.
“I don’t like the state of St Helens. It makes me sick to see that stand at Wigan. For a club that has recently won four in a row, I find it very sad.”
Tomkins: ‘Terrible’ for St Helens as Rowley sacks
Sky Sports Rugby League Sam Tomkins said:
“This is the time. The time is terrible.
“The day before a massive game, their play-off hopes sit in the balance. The day before they play Wigan, they sack the head coach. It’s a lot to process, and I’m as stumped as anyone.
“It could be that they feel they are going in the wrong direction this year, even though they are sitting in sixth place and they will be looking for a big change in terms of performance on the field.
“You see it often – a coach changes and the players react, but it’s a big gamble. It’s, again, strange times. It just blew my mind.
“I’m shocked. I definitely thought Paul Rowley had a bit more time. The Saints have been up and down this year.
Sky Sports Rugby League’s Sam Tomkins says Rowley’s departure ‘blows his mind’
“I don’t think any top team coach will decide in a 20-week season, his first season, that it’s time for him to go. It will be a conversation between the club and the coach and they decide that’s the best way to go.
“I’d be surprised if Paul Rowley took it upon himself to say I wanted to leave. But we’re a results-oriented business, and I don’t think the Saints have lost too many games this year, I think it’s probably the way they’ve lost at times.
“This is a team that’s always made the playoffs. They’ve never missed the playoffs. There’s a chance they could slip out of there.
“St Helens went: ‘We make a decision now that we go the other way, and hopefully the players react to that and the performance on the field changes’.”
2026 Super League – Key dates and what to look out for
- Rival Round Reverse: July 23-July 26
- Playoff Elimination: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: 3 October, Old Trafford
Sky Sports Every game in the Super League will again be shown live this season – with two matches from each round exclusively live, the remaining five matches will be shown every week. Sky Sports+
