Jack Welsby (born 17 March 2001) is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or er for St Helens in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at international level.

Background

Welsby was born in Wigan, Lancashire. Playing for Shevington Sharks ARLFC as a child.

Playing career

Club career

In 2018, he made his

début for St Helens against

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

. He played in the club's 8-4

2020 Super League Grand Final The 2020 Super League Grand Final was the 23rd official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXV. The game was won 8–4 by St Helens R.F.C., St Helens over their local rivals Wigan Warriors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in ...

victory over Wigan at the

Kingston Communications Stadium The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...

in Hull. In the final seconds of play with the scores at 4-4, St Helens attempted a field goal which rebounded off the goal post. Welsby was the first player to the ball from the ricochet and he scored after the full-time siren to win the match for St Helens. Welsby played for St Helens in their

2021 Challenge Cup Final The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was the 120th final of rugby league's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. It took place on 17 July 2021 at Wembley Stadium between Castleford Tigers and St Helens. Background The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was ...

victory over Castleford. In round 17 of the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021, ho ...

, Welsby scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in St Helens 42–10 over

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

On 9 October, Welsby played for St Helens in their

2021 Super League Grand Final The 2021 Super League Grand Final was the 24th official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXVI. The game was contested between Catalans Dragons and St Helens at Old Trafford. Background The two finalists finished first ...

victory over Catalans Dragons. In round 20 of the 2022 Betfred Super League season, Welsby kicked a drop goal in golden point extra-time to win the match for St Helens 13–12 against bottom placed

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

. In September, Welsby was awarded young player of the year at the 2022 Super League awards ceremony. On 24 September, Welsby provided two try assists in St Helens 24-12 Grand Final victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. In the

2023 World Club Challenge The 2023 World Club Challenge (known as the 2023 Betfred World Club Challenge for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th staging of the World Club Challenge. The match was contested by the NRL winners Penrith Panthers, and Super League champions S ...

, Welsby scored the opening try for St Helens in their 13–12 upset victory over Penrith. In round 15 of the 2023 Super League season, Welsby made his 100th appearance for St Helens and scored two tries in the clubs 34–16 victory over rivals Wigan. In round 20 of the 2023 Super League season, Welsby scored two tries for St Helens in their 22–18 victory over Leeds. Welsby played 29 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season scoring 11 tries as the club finished third on the table. Welsby played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which ended St Helens four-year dominance of the competition.

International career

On 15 October 2022, Welsby made his England debut against Samoa in the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...

scoring one try and providing two assists as England won the match 60–6. Welsby played in all five matches for England at the tournament including the semi-final where he made a crucial handling error in golden point extra-time against Samoa. England would go on to lose the match 27–26 at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. In the absence of regular captain George Williams through suspension, Welsby was named captain for the first test on 22 October 2023, becoming the youngest ever captain. Welsby played in all three tests as England won the series 3-0.

References

External links

St Helens profileSL profileSaints Heritage Society profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsby, Jack 2001 births Living people England national rugby league team captains England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Wigan St Helens R.F.C. players