Jon Wilkin confirmed as St Helens skipper
St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham has announced that Jon Wilkin will be the club’s captain for the 2015 season.
The former Hull KR utility player replaces Paul Wellens, who led the side to Grand Final glory last year.
Wilkin skippered England in 2012, during the international series against the Exiles.
“It is, and has been, an honour to play for such a fantastic club and brand like this for the last 12 years,” the 31-year-old told his club’s official website.
“It is an exceptional achievement for me and one I am so proud of.
“So be a named captain, to follow on from Paul Wellens and Keiron Cunningham – iconic players – comes with a lot of responsibility and pride.
“The exciting thing for me was that the pages of history for this club going forward are blank. They are yet to be populated with wins, trophies and images. So as captain, sitting alongside Keiron, moving forward I am looking forward to filling those up.
“The task for us as caretakers of the club at this time is to create a legacy for people to enjoy and look back on.
“And I am focused on helping us achieve that.”
Saints coach Keiron Cunningham confirmed that previous skipper Paul Wellens had played a part in the process of appointing a new captain.
“I spoke with Paul Wellens at the back end of last year as from personal experience I understood the situation regarding the captaincy because I was in a similar situation myself at certain points in my career,” he said.
“I was captain coming off the bench and captain when I wasn’t playing. We made a joint decision going forward to appoint a new captain.
“Paul will support Jon and will still be part of our leadership group. When I was playing we always had four or five captains on and off the field and that is no different here.
“It was a difficult choice to make and involved a lot of deliberation – but we felt the natural progression for us would be Jon Wilkin.
“He is a great ambassador, leader and epitomises what we are and want to be going forward.
“Paul is still around the playing squad and will play. He is heavily involved with the club and will around for a long time. It is good to have a player of his stature here.”