Monday 26 January 2015 11:20, UK
St Helens and Wigan are fierce rivals on the pitch – but like nothing better than a good cuppa, as Sky Sports News’ Fraser Dainton discovers…
If there’s one thing Rugby League players love more than the game itself, it’s coffee. So much so that St Helens captain Jon Wilkin and team mate Mark Flanagan decided to set up their own coffee shop in Manchester - the perfect venue for a pre-season chat with their friends from Wigan.
Despite perceptions, the two clubs have a great deal of respect for each other, and a number of strong friendships have formed as players and officials have grown-up playing with and against each other, over the years.
There’s always been a huge rivalry on the pitch - derbies are always among the most keenly contested in the Super League calendar. But last season’s Grand Final, and the early sending off of Ben Flower has the two clubs concerned that things are getting out of hand. Both are keen to draw a line under the issue, and get back to enjoying the game.
Warriors Head Coach Shaun Wane says: “I’m a big admirer of people like Jon Wilkin and Paul Wellens, because I’m a Rugby League fan. Mark Flanagan used to play for me in the juniors at Wigan. When we play each other, it’s an intense rivalry, we want to win and so do St Helens. But I love the sport more - I care for Rugby League, and it’s important for people to understand that.”
For 80 minutes rugby lads want to beat the hell out of each other, but come the final whistle, we’re shaking hands and it’s all in the past. It’s great that we can come here and have a coffee and a chat.
Saints Chief Executive Mike Rush agrees. “You’re not going to get away from Wigan and Saints being passionate, but we need to draw a line under the Grand Final. We enjoy each other’s company off the field but obviously we want to win, whether we play them on Good Friday or in the middle of June. I grew up playing against Kris Radlinski every week, and got to know Shaun Wane well when we were both in youth development. To the outside world, things like that aren’t known. Meeting up like this helps. Yes, the rivalry exists, but friendships exist too.”
It’s the same feeling for the players. There are big smiles on faces as Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook chats with Liam Farrell over a flat white, and Kris Radlinski shares a joke with Paul Wellens as he passes the sugar. In a couple of days, the two sides will come face to face again, in the latest pre-season friendly - the first meeting since Old Trafford.
Matty Smith is a former St Helens youth player, but now pulls the strings as a Wigan half-back. He says “I think that’s the way Rugby League is - it’s a family game. For 80 minutes rugby lads want to beat the hell out of each other, but come the final whistle, we’re shaking hands and it’s all in the past. It’s great that we can come here and have a coffee and a chat.”
Jon Wilkin, having been given the captain’s arm-band for the new season, gives some perspective. “There’s a lot of aggression on the field, but we have a common bond away from it, and we genuinely get on with the majority of the guys. It’s probably one of the stand-out characteristics of the game. You can’t afford to take that aggression off the field, because in the wider context of what’s going on in the world, it’s not such a huge issue, and you’ve got to be reminded of that at times.”
So chances are that Sunday’s encounter should be as exciting as we would expect from this particular fixture, but the losers might be the one’s having to get the next round of coffees in.
