NextGen: Meet the trainee accountant now living his Super League dream with St Helens

You’ll have to search far and wide to find a more inspiring backstory to elite level rugby league than the one of St Helens hooker Jake Burns, whose path to Super League was unconventional to say the least.

Rewind to January 2022 and Burns was in training to become an accountant whilst enjoying his rugby at Open Age level for Halton Farnworth Hornets in the amateur game.

It was at the Hornets where he was spotted by St Helens scouts, and was offered a three-month trial with the Super League giants.

After impressing upon his trial, Burns joined the club’s reserves for the 2022 season and went on to win Saints’ Reserves Player of the Year for 2022.

2023 saw Burns remained with Derek Hardman’s reserves at Saints in 2023, whilst gaining first-team opportunities with North Wales Crusaders in League 1.

And his professionalism and determined attitude saw him earn his first full-time deal with Paul Wellens’ first-team ahead of 2024: his first professional contract at the age of 23.

Burns has played in the Championship for Swinton Lions via dual-registration this term as well as North Wales in League 1: and he was rewarded with his Super League debut for St Helens in July.

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From trainee accountant to Super League player: The inspirational story of St Helens hooker Jake Burns

The Widnesian has since made two appearances for the Saints, scoring two tries. As Wellens tells Love Rugby League, Burns’ backstory should be shouted from the rooftops.

“He was playing amateur rugby and we were setting our reserves team up again and looking where we could add some value to our reserves from a part-time basis and Jake Burns is one of those players,” Wellens said.

“He was training as an accountant at the time and came part-time with us and we just loved everything about him the second he walked through the door.

“He’s probably one of the most low maintenance players you’ll ever work with in your life. He comes in with a smile on his face everyday, his effort is outstanding and he’s one of the fittest members of the squad by some distance and that’s really endearing to the rest of the playing group.

“It was a no-brainer at the back end of last year to reward him with a full-time opportunity and the way he has grasped that has been first class as well.

“He took to the first-team environment straight away. I think the fact he is a little bit older and a bit maturer, and he’s lived in the real world, getting up in the morning and going to work, he’s done all of that so I think he was so grateful for the opportunity that he’s earned himself.

“Usually with younger players you see they are new to a full-time environment and that’s normal, you see they’ve got a bit of catching up to do but that certainly wasn’t the case with Jake.”

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Wigan Warriors winger Liam Marshall shares a similar story to Burns, having also been a trainee accountant before signing his first professional contract after plying his trade for the reserves.

“Stories like Liam Marshall and Jake Burns are stories that we should champion as a sport,” Wellens said. “Because we’re making decisions on kids when they’re 14, 15 or 16 in the scholarship programme and there’s a lot of young players at that point that feel that if they don’t get better, then that the door is shut. But in the case of players like Liam Marshall and Jake Burns, they’ve shown that’s not the case.

“Dedication and sticking at it, whether that be at amateur level or in League 1 or the Championship, staying in the game and playing the game that you love, you can quite often get that opportunity in Super League later down the track but you’re certainly not going to get it if you quit.”

Player profile

Name: Jake Burns
Date of birth: 23/06/2000
Position: Hooker
Senior debut: Castleford Tigers (H), 05/07/2024
Honours: 2022 St Helens Reserves Player of the Year

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