James Roby: St Helens legend joins club’s coaching staff after retiring from playing
James Roby becomes St Helens’ leadership, culture and performance coach after retiring as a player at the end of 2023; Roby played 551 games for Saints and won six Super League titles and four Challenge Cups; 38-year-old will now work with St Helens’ first-team squad among other roles
St Helens legend James Roby will continue his association with the club following his retirement as a player after being named leadership, culture and performance coach.
Roby’s 551st and final game for St Helens came in October 2023 as he ended his 20-year playing career, during which he won six Super League titles, four Challenge Cups, eight League Leaders’ Shields and two World Club titles with Saints.
The 38-year-old’s new role will see him closely affiliated with the first-team playing squad as part of head coach Paul Wellens’ staff but he will also have responsibilities within other areas of the club.
Roby told St Helens’ website: “First and foremost I’m another coach around the place. I’ll be taking the lead on the things we do as a team that deal with our values, our culture, and the leadership aspect of that.
“I’ll be mentoring some of the players to a degree, and from a performance mindset, I’ll be doing individual one-on-one coaching where we will focus on people as an individual, trying to just squeeze a little bit more out of them if we can by a different approach.
“St Helens is home for me and I’ve had a very lucky 20-year career, come to the end of that, and it is a little bit scary at times. You think about what’s next and what to go into and I explored a lot of different possibilities and opportunities.
“But in the end, this role became available. To stay in the environment that I know, I’m very familiar with all the staff, and all the players, it’s a very easy transition for me as a retiring player.
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