Paul Wellens says Super League needs to stop putting itself down

On Saturday, St Helens stunned the rugby league world when they defeated NRL Champions Penrith Panthers away to be crowned Champions of the World.

Super League has often been regarded as secondary to Super League and Morgan Knowles in the build up to the game hit back at the NRL for seeing Super League as “a second tier” competition.

However, now his coach Paul Wellens has suggested that British rugby league is to blame in part for the way rugby league puts itself down in this counrty.

He said:

“I think the word seismic was one that I used after the game, it is a real shot in the arm for Super League.

“I think we all as rugby league people will watch the NRL week in and week out and realise the strength of that competition, how consistence it is and the calibre of player they have.

“But I think in turn we do ourselves a disservice. Because the NRL is so strong we seem to talk ourselves down over here.

“The victory down under has said to everyone that Super League is a strong competition as well.

“We have not won Super League easily the last four years, we have had to beat some really strong teams and go to places that we have never been before to win those games so that shows to me that Super League is a really strong competition in its own right.

“Because the NRL is so strong it doesn’t mean that we are not as well.”