Keiron Cunningham is expected to be confirmed on Monday as the new coach of St Helens, the Super League champions, following Nathan Brown’s return to Australia.
Cunningham is the ultimate local hero, havingcrowned his outstanding 15-year playing career for Saints with the last try at Knowsley Road in 2010, with his position among the club’s all-time greats confirmed when a bronze statue of him was erected outside their new stadium at Langtree Park.
Now 37, he has been on the coaching staff for the four seasons since his retirement, assisting Royce Simmons, Mike Rush and most recently Brown. He will become the second permanent British coach of St Helens in the Super League era, following Ellery Hanley’s season in charge in 1999, and that will leave a record low of two Australian coaches among the 12 clubs in the elite competition at the start of next season:Warrington’s Tony Smith (who has a British passport) and James Webster at Wakefield Trinity.
Paul Wellens, the club captain who is only two years younger than Cunningham, is expected to agree a new one-year playing contract but may also move on to the coaching staff.
Wellens has already been appointed to Steve McNamara’s England staff and is currently in Queensland preparing for Saturday’s opening Four Nations fixture against Samoa in Brisbane, with McNamara due to name his team on Tuesday morning.
Closer to home, Ireland pulled off a major surprise in the European Championship on Saturday, beating France 22-12 in Tallaght. Shannon McDonnell, an experienced Australian-born full-back who suffered a broken jaw shortly after joining St Helens late in the Super League season, scored two of five tries for Ireland, who lost all three of their matches in last year’s World Cup.
They now play a potential tournament-deciding match on Saturday, also in Tallaght, against Scotland, who beat Wales 42-18 in their opening game at Workington on Friday. “We’ve obviously got a lot of improving to do,” said Steve McCormack, the Scotland coach, who praised his captain Danny Brough and also Louis Senter, a Halifax wing who started playing rugby league in Glasgow for the Easterhouse Panthers.
Wales, whose new coach John Kear has been forced to rely mostly on youngsters for the tournament after the withdrawal of many of last year’s World Cup squad – including Ben Flower, the Wigan forward who was not due to play even before his dismissal in the Super League Grand Final – play France in Albi next weekend.In other weekend internationals, Greece beat Serbia 50-22 in Belgrade to win rugby league’s first Balkan Championship, Fiji beat Lebanon 40-28 in Sydney, and Papua New Guinea beat Tonga 32-18 in Lae.
