He’s been at St Helens for almost a decade and, despite having interest from abroad for his signature, Alex Walmsley has been determined to stay for one reason: to win the Challenge Cup.
Speaking on the Our League Preview Show, Walmsley spoke of his desire to win at Wembley.
“For me personally, it’s been quite well documented that I’ve had opportunities to leave in the past, with clubs in the NRL having been after me,” Walmsley said.
“But, one of the main reasons why I stayed is because I want to win the Challenge Cup – I’ve made no secret about that and it’s been one of the main passions of mine to win that from a kid.”
Saints will play Hull for the second time in just over a week and the England prop revealed that it has been strange.
“It’s obviously a little bit different to normal, but you’ve got to continue the preparation prior to the first game – you’ve got to drag through into the following week and do the same things that went well the first week and then improve on the things that didn’t go as well.
“It’s strange because you normally spend the week doing videos and reviews of the opposition but we only played them a few days ago so we know what to expect.
“We’re looking forward to it; I know we had a convincing win against them last week but it’ll be a different game – they will be a different beast this time around.”
Saints haven’t lifted the Challenge Cup since 2008 and that’s something that Walmsley says should not have happened.
“It’s obviously been mentioned it’s been that long.
“I know in 2019 we came close, but we got pipped by Warrington in the final which was disappointing so it’s been on our agenda as a club for a long time.
“It’s been on my agenda for the past nine years that I’ve been here – it’s so historic and for a club of our stature waiting 12 or 13 years is far too long.
“It’s certainly on our mind but ultimately it’s 80 minutes of rugby.”
