St Helens boss Paul Wellens has lifted the lid on the drama of losing Matty Lees halfway through their play-off eliminator clash with Leeds Rhinos.
The Saints booked their spot in the final four in the most dramatic way possible, with Shane Wright scoring the match winning try at the death, some time after seeing the game clock hit 80 minutes and hearing to the hooter.
However, they achieved the feat without prop Lees, who left the stadium at half-time to be with his partner as she went into labour. The forward was informed as he left the field just before half-time that he had to rush off and in his absence, the Saints came from being 14-6 down to seal the win and set up a semi-final clash against Hull KR.
The situation only made Saints’ win against the odds even more impressive and speaking after the game, Wellens gave a rundown of what happened.
St Helens boss on Matty Lees’ situation
“His partner, God bless her, was due to be induced tomorrow (Sunday) but as things transpire, you can’t have a word with the baby inside and say ‘can you just hold off for 15 or 20 hours’. Things gathered pace quicker than we thought they would,” Wellens said after the game.
“I spoke with Matty in the week and it was really important that he was there. Obviously it was the birth of his child and yes, it was an important rugby game and yes, we’d love him to be there, but I ask a lot and we as a club ask a lot of Matty Lees week in, week out and there’s a number of sacrifices he makes to perform at his best for us and the most important thing was that he could be there for his partner tonight.
“We had a very clear plan during the week and we’re comfortable with it that if he had to leave, he would leave. I wasn’t expecting it to come but when that moment came, we made what I feel was the right decision.”
Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.
Opening up on the timeline of events at Headingley, Wellens added: “About 25 minutes in we got a message saying things had progressed and should Matty make the birth then he would probably have to leave. We brought him off just before half-time and told him to get himself off. He just said, ‘I hope the boys win’.
“You can imagine it’s difficult in that situation. You know you need to be there for your partner but at the same time you’re thinking ‘am I letting the boys down?’.
“He needs to know he’s not letting the boys down because he never does and never has. I hope he’s made it back in time.
“From my perspective, you can get frustrated or caught up in things like that. I just stripped it down and thought if a player gets injured on the field and they come off, you make a change.
“I just viewed it in the same light that he might need to come off and if he does, we make the change. If I’m comfortable and calm about that, it transcends through the team and the players handled it really well.”
Despite knowing about Lees’ situation, Wellens made the decision to name just one front-rower on the bench, with Noah Stephens being the 18th man on the night.
Fortunately for Saints, that didn’t come back to bite them, but speaking on the decision to leave Stephens out, the head coach added: “It was a consideration but in my own mind, once the game started I thought we’d be home and hosed. That wasn’t the case.
“I’ve got to say I thought Shane Wright, he scores the try at the end which will be in the archives for decades to come but I thought his general all-round involvement was really good when he came on as well.”
