ROUGHYEDS are pleased to announce the re-signing of Welshman Calvin Wellington whom Stu Littler says is one of the best centres in Betfred League One. Having been a top centre himself, our head coach should know one when he sees one!
Most young boys in South Wales play rugby union, if only in school. Calvin was no exception, but he loved his rugby league, made a name for himself with South Wales Scorpions and ultimately signed for St Helens with his rugby union winger Regan Grace.
That was a few years ago and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since, but we are delighted to announce that Calvin has signed a new one-year contract to stay here, having made ten appearances for Oldham (four tries) in his first season with us. He also made a few tries for others.
Calvin is desperate to become a more consistent name on the team sheet and says he has been “moving mountains” – that’s a Welshman talking, for sure – to get himself ready for pre-season.
He said:
“2022 was a bit of a mad year for me in my personal life. In the off-season, I’ve moved mountains to get everything in place to be ready for this season.
“I owe it to the fans, Chris and Stu and the boys. I want to get into this pre-season hitting the ground running and ready to go.”
The 26-year-old only had Oldham in mind when looking ahead to next year, saying it would have been “stupid” to consider anywhere else.
He added:
“We started a culture last year. I love the coaches, fans and all the players.
“I can’t go wrong with it and it would be stupid for me to go away from that to be honest."
When Wellington put pen to paper, no-one was more pleased than Littler, who added:
“This isn’t me blowing smoke up anyone’s behind or anything like that. On his day he’s up there with the best centres in League One. That’s a fact.
“He didn’t play a good portion of last year, and that happens in rugby league.
“We get on well together and if he can find that consistency, we’ve got some player.”
Stu is not alone in his praise of Calvin, with his former coach at rugby union club Dragons dubbing him “a freak of an athlete”.
Calvin signed for St Helens in 2016 and spent time playing for Sheffield Eagles and Workington, before spending two years with the Dragons.
In 2019, he returned to Workington and joined us ahead of the 2022 season after his opportunity with Ottawa Aces did not materialise due to Covid.
