St. Helens, often known simply as Saints, is a professional rugby league club which competes in the Super League. The club plays home matches at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St. Helens, which is an area of Merseyside in north-west England. Red and white are the team's traditional home colours.
📜 St. Helens History
St. Helens was founded in 1873, and played its inaugural fixture the following year. In 1895, the club was among those to found the Northern Rugby Football Union, following that year's "schism" between teams in the north and south of England. In the 1896-1897 season, St. Helens competed in the first ever Challenge Cup final, losing 10-3 to Batley.
For much of the early 20th century, St. Helens struggled to assert itself on English rugby league, with poor form and relegations defining much of the club's early history. The side gradually began to challenge for trophies - it appeared in the 1914-1915 and 1929-1930 Challenge Cup finals, losing on both occasions - before a first ever championship win came in the 1931-1932 season.
After World War Two, the club continued to win major titles: another First Division trophy was won in the 1952-1953 season, before a first Challenge Cup win for the club followed in the 1955-1956 campaign. These accolades were to usher-in a period of dominance for the club, the first of 2 major golden ages in St. Helens history: the club would go on to win the First Division title in 1959, 1966, 1970, 1971, and 1975, and would be crowned Challenge Cup champions in 1961, 1966, 1972, and 1976.
The beginning of the second golden age coincided with the dawn of the Super League era, and it is arguably still underway, with St. Helens staking a claim as one of the most dominant sides in modern rugby league. The club has won 10 Super League titles since 1996, with the most recent win coming in 2022, as well as a trio of Challenge Cup titles (2001, 2007, and 2023).
