Jack Welsby explains Magic Weekend actions as St Helens’ fan anger addressed

St Helens star Jack Welsby has spoken out for the first time about his actions at Magic Weekend, and said defending his coach “was the right thing to do”.

In Newcastle, St Helens lost 17-4 to Leeds Rhinos, which was the third defeat on the bounce for Paul Wellens’ men. There seemed to be a disconnect between the Saints club and fans, which included some wanting the club legend to be sacked.

Wellens and some players copped personal abuse by their own ‘supporters’, resulting in the fullback deciding not to go and applaud them – in defence of his team.

The 45-year-old coach was stood pitchside after the defeat and took vile verbal abuse from St Helens’ own fans which forced Welsby to take a stand, as he walked straight down the tunnel instead of acknowledging the fans.

Speaking to Sky Sports commentator Stuart Pyke on ‘Sit Down with Saints’, the England international could see why there was dissatisfaction, but knows it went too far.

St Helens star draws line under turbulent fan period

“There’s a way to do it,” the England full-back, who is currently out injured, explained.

“We’d had a couple of bad defeats on the bounce, and that was probably the worst of them. It [Magic Weekend] is a big occasion, big stadium and I can understand why the fans were angry, I just didn’t think it was right.

“I’ve not got any abuse or was getting any stick, but I didn’t want to see my mates and my head coach getting abused. I thought it was the right time to make a stand and defend them.”

Welsby noted that if the boot was on the other foot, the situation would be different.

“I can’t go into someone’s place of work and abuse them, do you know what I mean?”

He added: “I know it’s different because we are on a bigger platform, but I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. Maybe there was a better way of going about it, but I made amends and I didn’t want it to carry on.”

Saints won the following game away at Catalans. However, Welsby stood by his actions from the previous game.

“At Catalans, I could have easily gone over and clapped them [the fans], but I thought if I can’t take the abuse, I can’t take the plaudits.

He continued: “After Huddersfield, there’s a line under it and we move forward together.

The Saints currently sit sixth in the league, and should their turbulent form continue, they are at risk of not making the playoffs for the first time in Super League history.