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95-450: New Zealand restricted their selections to players based in Australia and New Zealand and did not recognize the matches as international games. After New South Wales defeated Queensland on 11 April 1997 it was possible for New Zealand to make the final if they defeated New South Wales. This commercially disastrous final looked like becoming a reality when New Zealand winger Sean Hoppe scored

190-433: A 22–10 win, before Saints claimed the 2014 Super League Grand Final by a score of 14–6, taking a 2–1 lead in their Super League Grand Final head-to-heads. Wigan and St Helens have also met in 4 Premiership Finals, Wigan winning 3, St Helens once, 3 Lancashire County Cup Finals, St Helens winning two, Wigan one, and one Floodlit Trophy Final in 1968, Wigan winning 7–4. The two have traditionally met each other in

285-414: A defensive and disciplined edge that was never apparent under Ian Millward. His personality and relationship with the fans was an additional reason why St Helens fans were disgruntled in him leaving after four years in charge and why next boss Mick Potter faced a fair amount of criticism in his initial period as boss. Mick Potter was announced as the successor to Anderson, which received many plaudits from

380-558: A disappointing low mid—table finish. During the First World War , St Helens struggled to compete and failed to complete the full fixture list of the Emergency War League on two occasions, with the club finishing mid—table in the first year of the war, as well as being beaten by 37 points to 3 by Huddersfield in that year's Challenge Cup Final. The aftermath of the war was still taking its toll on national sport, not merely

475-523: A late try by Penrith took the game into extra-time. In the 2023 Super League season, St Helens finished third on the table equal on points with league leaders Wigan and the Catalans Dragons. In the elimination playoff, the club defeated Warrington which set up a match with Catalans at the Stade Gilbert Brutus. St Helens lead the match until the final minute when Catalans player Sam Tomkins scored

570-533: A mid—table side was once more apparent. The first two years of the 1950s, the last two years of Peter Lyons' reign, also ended trophyless. The arrival of Jim Sullivan as head coach in 1952 heralded a successful era for St Helens, and helped to establish the club as a respected force in British and eventually world rugby league. Under Sullivan, St Helens reached, and lost, the 1952–53 Challenge Cup final. They didn't have long to wait for trophies as St Helens won

665-561: A mid—table side. They finished second to bottom in the 1900–01 Lancashire League season, meaning they did not qualify to compete in the national league the year later. In the 1901–02 season, however, they did finish third in the Lancashire league. In 1902–03 , the combined Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues saw St Helens enter for the first time. St Helens were placed in Division 1 but finished next to bottom and suffered relegation. Promotion

760-575: A positive note, made it a hat—trick of ex—Blackbrook Royals to win the Man of Steel Award whilst playing for St Helens. This would be Anderson's last game in charge of the club, as he announced he was to return to Australia and the Parramatta Eels of the NRL . St Helens fans and players alike were saddened to see Anderson leave, after not only upholding the tradition of St Helens exciting brand of rugby, but giving them

855-648: A replay. St Helens retained the Lancashire Cup the year later, whilst also winning the Lancashire League for being the highest placed Lancashire side in the National standings, and they also reached the final of the Floodlit Trophy that season, where they were beaten 7–4 by Wigan. The 1969–70 season would be the year that Evans would leave his post, but not without winning a National Championship, beating Leeds in

950-575: A team that was widely regarded as an entertaining team to watch, but seemed to be constant runners-up. This was illustrated by the defeat by Halifax in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley, 19–18, in 1987. Success was achieved in 1988 when St Helens lifted their one and only John Player Trophy with a 15–14 victory over Leeds in January 1988, at Central Park , Wigan . Neil Holding with the crucial, match-winning drop-goal . They, however, lost to Widnes in

1045-511: A third successive time and from winning the cup for a fourth time running. This defeat naturally came as a shock to the St Helens faithful, after so often in the last 15 years seeing the team reach the pinnacle of this competition and go on to win the cup. It was from here that the criticism began, and questions were raised particularly of his tactics and his activity (or lack of) in the transfer market. On 3 October 2009, Saints defeated fierce rivals

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1140-643: A traditional rivalry with Wigan Warriors as the two most successful clubs in the British game, and close regional rivals. The clubs face each other traditionally on Good Friday . The club also have a local rivalry with the Warrington Wolves and a rivalry with Leeds Rhinos borne out of close competition during the Super League era. St Helens are the oldest members of the Rugby Football League . Founded as St Helens Football Club on 19 November 1873 at

1235-406: A try in the dying minutes of the 14 May match against New South Wales, but the try was controversially disallowed. The Tri-series final was held on 19 May 1997, and won by New South Wales, who defeated Queensland 23–22 at ANZ Stadium in the longest-ever game of first class rugby league. After 80 minutes, the scores were locked at 18–18, and a further 20 minutes were played. At the end of this time,

1330-401: A try underneath the posts to win the match for Catalans and end St Helens four-year dominance of the competition. St Helens began the 2024 Super League season strongly winning six of their opening seven games. However, injuries in the middle of the season to key players saw results drop. On 26 July 2024, St Helens were defeated by Leigh 46-4 which meant the club had lost five matches in a row for

1425-506: A two—legged game, St Helens won 92–11 on aggregate. In their first Challenge Cup Final of the 1970s, they defeated Leeds in 1972 16–13, in addition to winning their first Floodlit Trophy, after losing out in the final three times before, with an 8–2 win over Rochdale. The club reached the Championship final in that season, but were beaten. No success was achieved in seasons 1972–73 and 1973–74, with St Helens finishing third and second in

1520-421: A winger from Northampton , signed a professional contract with the club, and has made great strides in the under 18s after his signing from Northampton Demons. There is a strong rivalry between St Helens and Wigan ; the local derby between the two clubs has been traditionally regarded as the biggest in British rugby league , as well as one of the oldest in world rugby league. Both being founder members of

1615-548: The 2000 World Club Challenge against National Rugby League Premiers the Melbourne Storm , with Hoppe playing at centre and scoring a try in the loss. He played for St Helens at centre, scoring a try in their 2000 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan Warriors . As Super League V champions, St. Helens played against 2000 NRL Premiers, the Brisbane Broncos in the 2001 World Club Challenge . Hoppe played on

1710-533: The 2000 World Club Challenge , losing 44–6 to Melbourne , but lead them to retaining their Super League title in 2000 beating Wigan 29–16. They also won the Challenge Cup in 2001; 13–6 over Bradford, with the final held at Twickenham Stadium for the first time, and the 2001 World Club Challenge , earning a 20–18 win over the Broncos. Millward then lead Saints to the top of Super League VII , and to reclaim

1805-400: The 2019 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford against Salford . St Helens won the match 23–6 securing their 14th championship. At the end of the 2020 season, St Helens finished second behind league leaders Wigan. After easily accounting for Catalans Dragons in the semi-final, St Helens played against Wigan in the 2020 Super League Grand Final . With only seconds remaining and with

1900-622: The Canberra Raiders . Auckland lost 14–32, but the Raiders, who had been looking for a quality winger since the retirement of John Ferguson , saw enough of Hoppe to offer him a contract and he moved to Canberra before the end of the year. Hoppe played 17 games in his first season and won the Raiders' 1992 Rookie of the year award. Hoppe was the New Zealand Player of the Year in 1993. However at

1995-470: The Challenge Cup 13 times and World Club Challenge on three occasions. Since the foundation of the Super League in 1996, Saints have been the most successful team, winning 10 championships (including 4 in a row between 2019 and 2022), and being runner up a further 5 times (losing to Leeds Rhinos each time between 2007 and 2011), while winning the League Leaders Shield 9 times. They club have

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2090-577: The Grand Final , after Leeds beat Catalans in the eliminators, and Wigan in the semi-final. St Helens won the match 24–12, to win their fourth final in a row, and by doing so, they become the first team in Super League history to win four in a row. Before the start of the 2023 Super League season, St Helens travelled to Australia for the 2023 World Club Challenge . A week before the match, St Helens played one pre-season trial fixture against St. George Illawarra which St Helens won 30–18 at WIN Stadium . In

2185-464: The Lancashire Leagues , in 1952–53 , The 1953 Championship final against Halifax was held at Manchester City's Maine Road ground; in front of a crowd of over 50,000, Saints won their second Championship 24–14. They also won the 1953 Lancashire Cup, beating Wigan 16–8 at Swinton, the first time the two old rivals had clashed in a major final, Saints. Sullivan took Saints to their first victory in

2280-571: The Lance Todd Trophy after sharing the award with team-mate Leon Pryce the year earlier. They also achieved first place again in the 2008 Super League season—for the fourth year running —winning the League Leaders Shield , and beat Leeds 38–10 for the right to go to Old Trafford to contest the Grand Final. However, St Helens were once again defeated by Leeds in the Grand Final , by a margin of 24 to 16, on 4 October 2008. James Graham , on

2375-486: The Magic Weekend too. The two teams have a pretty even record, winning two (at Millennium Stadium in 2007 and 2008) and losing two (at Murrayfield in 2009 and Etihad Stadium in 2012), with one draw (at Millennium Stadium in 2011) in five ties. St Helens greatest winning margin and the highest game score between the two in competitive football was a 75–0 win in a 2005 Challenge Cup round 6 game. Wigan's biggest win

2470-482: The Northern Rugby Football Union , the derby has been played since 1895, making it amongst the most historical derbys in both British and global rugby league. Remarkably, the first encounter between the fierce rivals ended in a 0–0 draw at Knowsley Road , The games were traditionally played on Boxing Day , however were moved to Good Friday , during the busy Easter period in rugby league. More recently,

2565-545: The Northern Union after defecting from rugby union and association football . The Recs were based individually at the City Road ground, after previously sharing with St Helens, before their move to Knowsley Road, when neither played rugby league. The Recs played their first game on 6 September 1913. St Helens now had two professional rugby league teams. In both sides first year in co—existence, St Helens finished yet again in

2660-520: The Premiership Final at Old Trafford at the end of the season, further showing this team's ability to get to finals and not be able to compete on the best stage. Nothing was achieved in the next two seasons, including a defeat in the 1989 Challenge Cup Final and Murphy stood down as coach. Murphy was succeeded by Mike McClennan in February 1990. In his first season, McClennan took St Helens to

2755-593: The Rugby Football League , and one of the most successful clubs in its history. The club plays their home games at the Totally Wicked Stadium and currently compete in Super League , the top tier of British rugby league system . Since 1961 the club's home colours have been distinctive white shirts with a prominent red "V" on the chest of the jersey. St Helens have won the League Championship 17 times,

2850-488: The final on 25 August 2007. They were beaten in the Grand Final that year by Leeds by 33 points to 6, despite finishing at the top of the league ladder for the third successive season. James Roby , however, became the second St Helens player, and home—grown talent in two years to win the Man of Steel Award. Saints success in the Challenge Cup continued in 2008 with a victory at the new Wembley Stadium , this time defeating Hull F.C. 28–16. Paul Wellens received

2945-508: The 1960s, Saints became one of the most successful side of the summer era . Since the inception of Super League in 1996, they have won the title on eight occasions, and have added seven Challenge Cups to their five previous successes. Indeed, they won the inaugural Super League , albeit by finishing top of the league before the play—off era. St Helens defeated Bradford 8–6 in the 1999 Super League Grand Final , their first Grand Final, with more than 50,000 people witnessing Chris Joynt lift

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3040-430: The 1964–65 Championship final to Halifax at Station Road, Swinton . The 1965 New Zealand tourists appeared at Knowsley Road on Wednesday 15 September. Saints inflicted a 28–7 defeat on their visitors, their biggest loss of the tour. A League and Cup double was achieved under Coan in the 1965–66 season, whilst they lost the Floodlit Trophy final against Castleford . St Helens were beaten by Wakefield Trinity in

3135-431: The 1967 Rugby Football League Championship Final at Station Road, Swinton on 10 May 1967 by 20 points to 9 in a replay, after a 7–7 draw 4 days earlier. This would be Coan's last year in charge at St Helens after a highly successful period as boss. He was replaced by Cliff Evans . Evans' first full season in charge at the club saw him win the club's eighth Lancashire Cup in 1968; winning 13–10 against Warrington after

3230-595: The 1980s. Hoppe then joined the Northcote Tigers and played for them in the Auckland Rugby League competition. In 1989 he was part of the Tigers Fox Memorial and Lion Red National Knockout title winning side. He was a part of several other Northcote winning teams during these years and scored two tries in the 1991 Lion Red League final. In 1992 he played for Auckland in a preseason match against

3325-596: The 1991 Challenge Cup Final, where they were defeated by 13 points to 8 by Wigan. They won the Lancashire Cup, in the 1991–92 season, beating Rochdale Hornets . They also lost the Premiership Final that season, losing to Wigan. In 1993 the club avenged their defeat by Wigan the season previous to win the Premiership, in the same season that they won the Charity Shield , and lost the Lancashire Cup final. McClennan

3420-552: The 2011 season saw the emergence of a new crop of talent, with players such as Jonny Lomax and Lee Gaskell stepping up to fill the gaps left by senior players and earning rave reviews for their performances. In 2012, the club moved into their new home at Langtree Park . However, the season started with a terrible run of results, which culminated in Royce Simmons being sacked in March. With assistant coach Kieron Purtill also leaving,

3515-510: The Auckland Warriors near the end of the 1999 season so he could join St. Helens in the Super League competition. Hoppe joined St. Helens on a short-term deal but then signed a two-year deal with the club. Hoppe played for St. Helens from the interchange bench in their 1999 Super League Grand Final victory over Bradford Bulls . Having won the 1999 Championship, St. Helens contested in

3610-472: The Canberra Raiders). He was part of the Auckland Warriors inaugural side in 1995 and became a regular first team player. He was voted the competition's best winger in 1995 and his 19 tries in the 1995 season remained a club record until 2003 (when it was surpassed by Francis Meli ). He is currently fourth on the club's all-time try scoring list with 44. Signed for a five-year contract, he was released by

3705-506: The Challenge Cup final (against Halifax in 1956), On Saturday 24 November 1956, St Helens inflicted a touring Australia its biggest ever defeat with a 44–2 win. The following year saw Saints win the 1956-7 Lancashire League 1956–57 and they won it again in 1958–59 . Sullivan's second championship came in 1958–59 . A second Lancashire County Cup came in 1960–61, Ex—St Helens captain and prop-forward Alan Prescott took over from Jim Sullivan as head coach in 1959. Perhaps

3800-618: The Fleece Hotel by William Douglas Herman, they played their first ever match on 31 January 1874 against Liverpool Royal Infirmary. They became known as St Helens Rangers up until the 1880s. The club moved from the City Ground in 1890 where they had shared with St Helens Recs when neither were members of the Northern Rugby Football Union. They defeated Manchester Rangers in the first match played at Knowsley Road. In 1895

3895-526: The Floodlit Trophy in the 1978–79 season, going down to Widnes. The 1979–80 season was unsuccessful, with St Helens finishing mid—table. Eric Ashton left the club after this disappointing year. Former club player and Welsh international Kel Coslett took over as coach in June 1980. However, his spell as coach was not nearly as successful as his spell as a player, and St Helens won nothing whilst under Coslett's command, finishing mid-table in both seasons. He held

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3990-728: The Kiwis for his club side, St Helens. Hoppe captained St. Helens in his last match. After retirement Hoppe moved to Bundaberg and is a referee in the Bundaberg Rugby League competition as well as serving as an assistant coach for their representative team. Sean is currently working as part of Bullgang in the WestConnex M4-M5 Link Tunnels His daughter Kaitlyn Hoppe starred in Season 8 of The Bachelor Australia and came 5th. https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7031353/ Hoppe

4085-577: The Kiwis in the Centres, rather than his usual Wing position. Hoppe also represented New Zealand in the Super League Tri-series in 1997 and played for Aotearoa Māori at the 2000 World Cup . St Helens R.F.C. St Helens R.F.C. , commonly known as Saints , is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside , England . Founded in 1873, the club is one of the oldest members of

4180-546: The Recs in the Lancashire County Cup Final by 10 points to 2 in the 1926–27 season. The season after, they were trophyless, finishing tenth in a 28—team league. One year after the Challenge Cup's début at Wembley , St Helens reached the final there where they were defeated by 10 points to 3 by Widnes in 1930. They won their first ever National Championship in the 1931–32 season, defeating Huddersfield 9–5 in

4275-619: The St. Helens fans and the European game as a whole, as the year previous he had led the Catalans Dragons to a record—high third—placed finish in the league. On 9 August 2009, St Helens reached a record ninth consecutive Challenge Cup semi—final, where they were beaten by 24 points to 14 by the Huddersfield Giants . This prevented Saints from reaching the final at the new Wembley Stadium for

4370-468: The Super League title in the 2002 Grand Final , Sean Long snatching a last minute 19–18 win over the Bradford with a drop—goal . They lost the 2002 Challenge Cup Final to Wigan at Murrayfield Stadium by 21 points to 12. They were hammered in the 2003 World Club Challenge by Sydney by 38 points to 0. In this season, they failed to win a trophy after being knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Leeds at

4465-570: The Wigan Warriors to book their place at a fourth consecutive Super League Grand Final , only to lose out to the Leeds Rhinos in the final, 18–10, making the Leeds Rhinos the only team to win the Grand Final three times consecutively. A 20-year-old Kyle Eastmond scored all of Saints' points. A trophyless year for the first time since 2003 was another catalyst to Potter's critics abusing and slating his appointment, with even rumours of rifts within

4560-511: The Year Coach Award – this was the first time a rugby league coach had won the award. After a slow start to the 2007 season , Saints added to their history by beating Brisbane 18–14 to win the 2007 World Club Challenge . In July, they beat Super League rivals, Bradford , to reach the first Challenge Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium. Here, St Helens successfully defended their Challenge Cup by defeating Catalans Dragons 30–8 in

4655-476: The amount of youth talent that the club homed. More early examples of players that made the grade following on form their stints in the academy and reserves (previously known as the "St Helens Colts") include Steve Prescott , Paul Forber , Gary Connolly , and Chris Arkwright . St Helens' traditional policy with youth was to make them better players for the club. Now, however, it can be argued that Saints look to make them internationals, with no less than five of

4750-433: The big stage was once more shown, going down in this semi—final by 32–28. Defeating Huddersfield Giants in the qualifying semi—final in the 2010 play-off series by 42–22 not only saw Saints qualify for their fifth Grand Final in five years, but also saw the final ever game to be played at Knowsley Road. Fittingly, Cunningham snatched the final ever try at the famous old ground in typical fashion from dummy—half. However, for

4845-605: The changing rooms. 2010 was the year that saw Potter surrender to his critics and leave St. Helens. Criticisms from club legends like Paul Sculthorpe and Sean Long regarding his personal skills with the fans, as well as the continued fan rejection saw him let his contract run out and, initially, seek a job in the NRL, but eventually, and perhaps surprisingly, join Bradford on a two—year contract. Names like Royce Simmons , Mal Meninga , and assistant coach Kieron Purtill , were linked with

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4940-447: The club later. The club reverted to this kit for one season during the rugby league centenary season in 1995 . The Challenge Cup was launched in 1897 and it was St Helens who contested its first final with Batley , at Headingley , Leeds . The "Gallant Youths" of Batley emerged victorious 10–3, with Dave "Red" Traynor scoring the lone St Helens' try. Between 1897 and 1901, St Helens were not successful, even generally considered

5035-464: The club were one of 22 clubs that resigned from the Rugby Football Union and established the Northern Union . The first match of the new code was an 8–3 win at home to Rochdale Hornets before 3,000 spectators, Bob Doherty scoring St Helens' first try. They played in a vertically striped blue and white jersey—a stark contrast to the well known broad red band which would become the kit for

5130-473: The club's ability to compete and complete fixtures, on 31 January 1918 'close down' due to a lack of finances following a 22–0 defeat by Widnes. Saints re-open on 25 December 1918 and are beaten 20 points to nil by St Helens Recs in a friendly fixture at City Road. In the shortened 1918–1919 season, St Helens played only nine times. The club's lack of success and disappointing league finishes continued for another seven seasons. The club defeated town rivals

5225-425: The club's new stadium upon its construction in 2012. He would additionally take up a coaching role with the academy, as well as a strength and conditioning role with the first team. In light of these decisions, neither Cunningham nor Potter halted their personal and the St Helens team quest for success; shown by their tenth successive semi—final appearance in the Challenge Cup . However, Saints failure to perform on

5320-419: The coaching reins were taken up by youth coach Mike Rush for the remainder of the 2012 season, with Keiron Cunningham acting as his assistant. Following St Helens's defeat by Wigan in the quarter-final of the Challenge Cup, which ended a run of 11 consecutive semi-final appearances, it was announced that Nathan Brown would be taking over as head coach for 2013, with Rush moving back into his previous role. At

5415-452: The current St Helens squad's youth products having gone on to represent either Great Britain or England or both. St Helens youth policy does not operate solely in the borough boundaries of the town. Indeed, many of St Helens current and past squads call areas like Widnes, Wigan, Cumbria and Oldham home. St Helens have, also, branched even into rugby union territory and other wider national areas for youth players; most recently, Daniel Brotherton,

5510-604: The departing members of the squad that many had hoped for, but nevertheless, a new era was just around the corner, as Simmons' reign began. Australian Royce Simmons took over from compatriot Mick Potter for the start of the 2011 season. As the club awaited completion of the new stadium, all home fixtures in 2011 were played at the Halton Stadium in Widnes , effectively meaning St Helens were forced to play an entire season of away fixtures. In addition, they suffered upheaval in terms of

5605-734: The end of the Super League XIX regular season, St Helens claimed the League Leaders' Shield and reached the 2014 Super League Grand Final against Wigan where they won the match 14–6 claiming their 13th premiership. In the Super League XXIII season, St Helens claimed the League Leader's Shield and Ben Barba who had joined the club that year won the Man of Steel award. St Helens were favourites to reach another grand final but were upset in

5700-529: The end of the 1993 season it was announced that Hoppe had signed for the new Auckland Warriors side who were to enter the competition in 1995. Canberra Raiders were unwilling to sign Hoppe for just one more year and so he joined the North Sydney Bears for the 1994 season and thus missed the Canberra Raiders 1994 Grand Final win over Canterbury-Bankstown (North Sydney lost the Grand Final qualifier to

5795-586: The famous 'Dads Army' final. They also won the Premiership against Salford , and the Floodlit Trophy against Dewsbury in a successful season. In the same year, St Helens lost to Eastern Suburbs in an unofficial World Club Challenge Final by 25 points to 2. The club won the Premiership in 1977, but, on 13 December 1977, Saints lost 26–11 to Hull Kingston Rovers in the final of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy . In 1978 Leeds avenged their 1972 loss against St Helens, emerging winners by 14–12. St Helens lost

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5890-507: The final after finishing third overall. The 1970s were also seen as a successful spell for St Helens, as they reached three Challenge Cup finals in the period. Jim Challinor took over from Cliff Evans in 1970, and in his first season, he won the Championship, and reached two finals, the Lancashire Cup and Floodlit Trophy, losing both. In this season, a European Championship—not dissimilar to today's World Club Challenge —was contested between St Helens and French champions St Gaudens . Over

5985-426: The final. This was the same season that they won their second Lancashire League , the first coming in the 1929–30 season. They lost the 1933 Lancashire Cup Final to Warrington, whilst finishing in no competitive position in the league once more. St Helens reached no finals or achieved any more honours during the remainder of the 1930s. Also, what appeared to be building as something of an inter—town derby between

6080-478: The finest youngsters, potential stars and internationals the world of rugby league has seen. Although initially, players were signed either from other clubs, or would go straight into first team reckoning after being signed from their amateur club at a much later age than today's system; as the game became more widespread in the town, across the North—West and nationally, a system had to be introduced in order to suffice

6175-464: The first time since the Super League era began. St Helens would finish the 2024 Super League season in sixth place on the table, their lowest finish of the Super League era. The club were eliminated in the first week of the playoffs against Warrington. St Helens were not expected to win the game but took Warrington to golden point extra-time where George Williams would kick the winning drop goal for Warrington. The St Helens academy has produced some of

6270-474: The fourth year running, St Helens once more proved flops in the Grand Final . One of the finest finals of the Super League era was anticipated, but the flamboyant Saints that the fans saw so rarely under Potter once more failed to materialise, and, in front of a near sell—out crowd of 71,526, they fell to a 22–10 loss to rivals Wigan. It was not the romantic finish to the Saints careers of Potter, Cunningham or any of

6365-643: The game was even played on Maundy Thursday in Super League. In all league encounters between the two since 1895, there have been 235 games, with Wigan having won nearly double the number of games that St Helens have. Saints winning 83, drawing 11 and losing 141. All competitive games, i.e. cup and league games combined, show that in the 366 games played, St Helens have won 141, there have been 19 draws and Wigan have won 206. They too have contested no fewer than 6 Challenge Cup Finals, and have met in three Super League Grand Finals ; St Helens winning 29–16 in 2000 , with Wigan initially gaining revenge in 2010 , with

6460-403: The golden era of the club came in the 1960s, as well as more lately in the Super League era . With a galaxy of stars including Tom van Vollenhoven , Alex Murphy , Dick Huddart , Cliff Watson , Ray French and Vince Karalius , the 1960s was a decade of great success for the Saints. In Prescott's first season as coach he lifted the Lancashire League in the 1959–60 season . During this decade,

6555-490: The job for 2011. Simmons was the chosen man for the job, as announced on 22 July 2010. The 2010 season would also see legendary hooker and captain Keiron Cunningham retire from the game after 17 years with his one and only club. However, Cunningham would not be leaving without leaving a lasting legacy on the club. A lifelike bronze statue of Cunningham was built and placed on display in the town, before being transported to

6650-537: The management of Prescott. After his departure in 1962, Stan McCormick led the club to retaining the Lancashire Cup in his first year, again beating Swinton; and St Helens made it a quadruplet of Lancashire Cup successes with wins against Leigh in 1964, and once more Swinton in 1965, the latter success under coach Joe Coan. St Helens won the Western Division Championship under McCormick's rule, beating Swinton 10–7. St Helens, under coach Joe Coan, lost

6745-413: The playing squad; having already lost the influential Cunningham to retirement and other club legends like Sean Long, the start of the season was overshadowed by the news that Kyle Eastmond , who had been earmarked as Long's replacement, and inspirational leader James Graham were both looking to leave the club. A number of serious injuries to further key players such as Leon Pryce and Ade Gardner meant

6840-464: The post for two years before handing over to Billy Benyon . Not in-keeping with several of his predecessors, Benyon did not enjoy any success in his first season as St Helens coach, losing the Lancashire Cup final of that year to Warrington. Nothing was won in the 1983–84 season, but Saints won back the Lancashire Cup, with a 26–18 win at Wigan in the 1984–85 season. They also won the Premiership in

6935-490: The preliminary final by Warrington 18–13 at Langtree Park . During the Super League XXIV season, St Helens reached the Challenge Cup final against Warrington but lost the match 18–4 at Wembley Stadium . At the end of the Super League XXIV regular season, St Helens won the League Leader's Shield for a second consecutive year after finished 16 points clear of second placed Wigan . St Helens would go on to reach

7030-415: The recognisable 'red vee' strip first appeared in 1961 for the final against Wigan . St Helens won this epic 12–6, and the kit has since become synonymous with the club. Mick Sullivan joined Saints for £11,000, then a record transfer fee. They won the Lancashire Cup in the 1961–62 season, with a 25–9 success over Swinton (at Central Park , Wigan ) seeing yet more silverware come St Helens' way under

7125-416: The respective years. This could be a possible reason for Jim Challinor's replacement with Eric Ashton as head coach. In Ashton's first season in charge, St Helens won the Championship, and contested the inaugural Premiership Final, losing 26–11 to Leeds. They repeated their first Challenge Cup success of the 1970s three years after the first against Widnes in 1976 where they were victorious by 20–5 in

7220-475: The same season with a 36–16 victory over defending champions Hull Kingston Rovers at Elland Road in Leeds . The 1984–85 season saw the arrival (for one season only) of giant Australian international centre Mal Meninga who quickly became a crowd favourite at Knowsley Road. In Benyon's last season as coach, 1985–86, nothing was won. The arrival of Alex Murphy as coach in 1986 produced some colourful displays from

7315-403: The scores locked at 4-4, St Helens scored a try after the siren through Jack Welsby to win back to back championships in the most dramatic of circumstances. On 17 July 2021, St. Helens won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 13 years beating Castleford in the final 26–12. St. Helens had trailed the match at half-time 12–6. St Helens finished the 2021 Super League season in second place on

7410-606: The scores were 22–22, and Queensland captain Allan Langer is said to have asked the referee, "Should we toss a coin to see who wins?" The game then moved into golden point extra time, and after 104 minutes, Noel Goldthorpe kicked a field goal for New South Wales, and won the match. Despite the game being played in Brisbane, NSW were the home team as it was the Final of the series. Coach:Tim Sheens Assistant Coach: Craig Bellamy The side

7505-468: The semi—final stage, and the Super League play—offs by Wigan at the same stage. In 2004 they beat arch—rivals Wigan 32–16 at the Millennium Stadium , Cardiff in front of a capacity crowd of 73,734 people to win the Challenge Cup , Long gaining his second of an eventual three Lance Todd Trophies . Millward's reign was not without controversy and his St Helens career ended controversially after he

7600-726: The summer era. Additionally, Paul Wellens received the Man of Steel Award for the 2006 season. In December 2006 St Helens were awarded with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award at the Annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year Ceremony. This accolade recognises the best team in any sport within the United Kingdom. At the same ceremony Daniel Anderson was given the BBC Sports Personality of

7695-478: The table. They then went on to defeat Catalan Dragons 12–10 in a hotly-contested Grand Final, securing the club's first league and cup double since 2006 and an historic 'three-peat' - becoming only the second team in the summer era to win three consecutive championships. St Helens ended the 2022 regular season as League Leaders, thus earning them a bye to the semi-finals. They beat Salford 19-12, to reach their 4th consecutive Grand Final. They faced Leeds in

7790-400: The team was facing an uphill battle on the field all season. However, despite all the problems faced, St Helens defied the odds to reach their 11th Challenge Cup semi-final in a row, and at the end of the season they qualified for their sixth consecutive Grand Final. However, for the fifth year in a row they were on the losing side, as the injury-plagued squad finally succumbed to Leeds. However,

7885-483: The trophy at Old Trafford. They also won the World Club Challenge in 2001 and 2007 , beating Brisbane both times. In 2023 they then beat Penrith Panthers 13-12 in Australia to win it for a third time. The success of the Saints in Super League began under the leadership of Shaun McRae in 1996. During his tenure the club won one league title ( 1996 ), a year in which he was named Super League's coach of

7980-602: The two St Helens clubs was struck down as St Helens Recs played their last game on 29 April 1939, as, due to the economic depression , it was not possible for the town to sustain two teams. Like during the First World War, the club could not enjoy having a full—time squad during the Second World War and struggled to compete. They did not compete in the National Championship until a 17 team Emergency War League

8075-482: The week leading up to the World Club Challenge game against Penrith , many pundits, former players and coaches predicted St Helens would lose the match heavily with Phil Gould stating "Penrith should be allowed to declare at half-time". St Helens would go on to win the World Club Challenge game 13-12 in golden point extra-time to claim their third trophy in the competition. St Helens had led the match 12-0 until

8170-511: The wing in Saints' victory. His contract was later extended for another year and he retired at the end of the 2002 season. Hoppe played for St. Helens from the interchange bench in their 2002 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls . His last two matches in 2002 were a Test match against France for the New Zealand national rugby league team followed up by playing against

8265-534: The year, and enjoyed back—to—back successes over Bradford in the Challenge Cup (1996 and 1997 ). St Helens lost consecutive Premiership finals to Wigan in 1996, and 1997. 1998 proved to be a trophyless year, and Ellery Hanley succeeded McRae in 1999, after the Australian left for new Super League side Gateshead . Hanley led Saints to Grand Final success against Bradford in October of his first year in charge. Hanley

8360-511: Was a Junior Kiwi in 1989 and played for the New Zealand Māori rugby league team from 1990. Hoppe played in 35 test matches for New Zealand between 1992 and 2002, including the 1995 World Cup . His test career originally ended in 1999 however in 2002 he was called up into the squad touring Europe as an injury replacement and played in the final test against Great Britain and the one-off test against France. In these matches he played for

8455-521: Was awarded the Lance Todd trophy for a record third time for his man—of—the—match performance during the final. St Helens followed up their Challenge Cup win by claiming the League Leader's Shield , before cementing their reputation as the team of the year by defeating Hull 26 points to 4 in the Super League Grand Final . Once more St Helens confirmed their status as the outstanding team of

8550-474: Was coached by Graeme Norton and he served as a selector alongside Frank Endacott and Gary Kemble . Queensland were coached by Wayne Bennett . Sean Hoppe Sean "Shoppe" Edward Hoppe (born 19 January 1971) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand . As a junior, he played for the Glen Innes Falcons, a feeder club to Ellerslie during

8645-402: Was considered by many to be a polarising figure and after several acrimonious disagreements with the St Helens board of directors, he was sacked a month into the following season . Ian Millward was appointed as Hanley's successor as head coach. Under Millward, St Helens quickly became the most exciting team in the competition, playing expansive, attacking rugby. He saw them soundly beaten in

8740-507: Was formed in the 1941–42 season, and did not win any regional honours. They finished bottom of the EWL in seasons 1942–43 and 1943–44 and next-to-bottom in 1944–45. The club's fortunes that had seen them be successful so rarely the decade previous did not change in the 1940s. After the commitments of the Second World War, St Helens still found it hard to compete, and the trend of finishing as

8835-479: Was gained at the first attempt, only for another poor year to see them finish once again in a relegation position. However the two Divisions became one League to save the club from a second relegation. The Champion fortunes that St Helens fans' greet today were certainly not apparent in this period, with the club finishing fourth to bottom in 1907, third to bottom in 1908, and consistently mid—table between 1909 and 1913. On 14 June 1913, St Helens Recs joined

8930-622: Was head coach until December 1993, when Eric Hughes succeeded him as head coach in 1994. Under Hughes, St Helens only reached the one, Regal Trophy Final, where they lost to Wigan in 1996 by 25 to 16. They finished fourth in both of Hughes' seasons in charge. The lack of trophies in the St Helens cabinet, after the club had suddenly become so accustomed to success, would need to change in the "new" brand Super League that formed in 1996; hence Hughes' departure in 1996 and replacement with Australian Shaun McRae . Following on from their most constant ambition for successes, first experienced really in

9025-475: Was suspended in May 2005. He was sacked for gross misconduct a week later. Daniel Anderson was appointed as coach, Millward was then made coach of archrivals Wigan. Daniel Anderson saw his new team become the first team to top the Super League and fail to reach Old Trafford in 2005. However, St Helens won the 2006 Challenge Cup Final at Twickenham Stadium , beating Huddersfield 42–12. Scrum-half Sean Long

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