St Helens boss Kristian Woolf explains why rising star Ben Davies deserves new two-year contract

St Helens have tied down promising centre Ben Davies until the end of the 2024 season after handing him a two-year contract extension.

Davies, who joined the champions from Widnes, said: “I am grateful for the opportunity and I am excited for what lies ahead.

“I want to thank all the coaches from Saints, of course, but from my amateur days and at Widnes, too, as well as my family and friends.

“My aim was always to play Super League and I enjoyed my time at Widnes, which was exciting, but this is my club and who I want to play for now.

“I feel this is the best place for me to benefit, improve my game and I am looking forward to the future.”

Head coach Kristian Woolf added: “It’s a real reward for a guy that joined us initially in our reserves team and really impressed us.

“He is a player that understands the game, has a real skill set, is a big body, can kick and can read the game really well.

“He has worked on his physical condition over the last few months and has made a lot of sacrifices and put himself in a position to play some games for us and he has impressed along the way.

“I am really proud of how he has developed his game and his fitness and how hard he has worked. He is very versatile, and the players enjoy having him around and for those reasons he is a great signing for us.”

Davies follows the re-signings of Konrad Hurrell, Sione Mata’utia, Matty Lees, Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd as the club looks to retain a strong squad into 2023.

He played his community rugby for Halton Farnworth Hornets before switching to Widnes Moorfield. From there, he signed a scholarship deal at Widnes Vikings, playing in their Academy and making his first team debut in 2019.

Ben, who also spent time on loan at Salford, represented Lancashire in the Academy origin programme and was part of the England Under 18’s Academy squad before signing for the Saints – initially with the reserves.

He made his Saints’ debut in defeat to Salford in 2020, impressing with a solid display at centre. Davies made another single appearance in 2021,again against the Red Devils and was handed the number 22 jersey for 2022.