St Helens coach Paul Wellens used his press conference to pay tribute to local legend Ray French whilst also fielding questions on Super League expansion.
The Saints boss was speaking publicly for the first time since the passing of Ray French, a rugby league icon who hailed from St Helens, and did so much to further rugby league during his 85 years.
That’s something Paul Wellens was eager to point out when asked about the former Great Britain international, who perhaps became more known for being the voice of rugby league during his time as a lead commentator for the BBC.
“Yeah, it’s really sad. Obviously, Ray is someone who if you’re in rugby league circles then you know who he is,” Wellens said, adding: “We know him well for his commentary but I was fortunate to be in his company and mix with him personally as well during my time in the game.
“He was a wonderful man who was great to spend time around. He’ll be probably rightly remembered mostly for the work in the commentary box, but I know in and around St Helens he was obviously a teacher, coached a rugby team as well and developed a lot of wonderful players.
“In that respect, he’s done so much with his life and it’s obviously a sad loss, but myself personally and on behalf of everyone in the club send out our condolences and best wishes to his family.
Adding to that and French’s status, Wellens spoke of his legacy as a St Helens legend, explaining: “He’s kind of synonymous with the town really, Ray. Obviously, the most recognised voice in his commentary work but there’s lots of other things, like I mentioned, and I’m sure there’s a lot more than that.”
St Helens boss warns against ‘diluting’ Super League amid expansion news
French’s sad passing was confirmed over the weekend but more news that has come since St Helens last played is the fact that Super League will be expanding to 14 teams from 2026.
Twelve teams will be confirmed via IMG gradings with a further two gaining entry to Super League via an ‘applications’ process, and Wellens was asked for his general thoughts on the changes.
“I’m really unsure at this moment in time,” he admitted, noting a need to strengthen Super League before warning against ‘diluting’ the competition.
“What I would say is, what we need is the competition to strengthen, the competition to grow. Now, if that’s by going to 14 teams and we’re going to strengthen the competition by doing that, then it would be good.
“What I will say is, we have to be careful we don’t dilute it as well. I’ve not got an opinion one way or the other at this moment in time. I think really only time will tell.”
With two more teams entering Super League, that will mean the player pool expanding by 50-60 players and Wellens questioned if there is enough quality for that, and how exactly it will be managed.
He explained: “You’d like to probably see a little bit more in-depth information around where the players are going to come from, etc.
“Obviously, the overseas quota has been extended, so that’s obviously one way of doing it but you do probably question whether we have the strength and depth of player within the game over here. That’s not me saying we don’t, I’m just unsure at this moment in time.”
The overseas quota will increase to ten, from seven, next year but Wellens conceded that Saints, who currently only have two overseas players contracted for 2026, are unlikely to maximise that.
