World Club Challenge

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The 2007 WCC logo.
The 2007 WCC logo.

The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition held between the winners of the Australian NRL competition and the Super League (Europe) competition.

Contents

[edit] History

The competition began unofficially in 1976 as a match between the Australian and English champions, followed by another unofficial match in 1987. The first official World Club Challenge was contested between Widnes and Canberra in 1989. Three further matches, each involving Wigan, were staged in through the early 1990s.

With the outbreak of the Australian Super League War in 1995, the World Club Challenge was not staged again until 1997. In that year the competition was restructured to included 22 clubs from the Australian and European Super League competitions. As it was contested over 6 rounds in 2 hemispheres, with $1,000,000 prize money, the competition was prohibitively expensive to stage, and it reportedly lost over $5,000,000. This, coupled with the poor ratings and attendances that were achieved both in Australia and Europe, led to the competition being postponed for a number of years.

When it was resurrected in 2000, it was once more played between the winners of the premierships in Australia and the United Kingdom. It has been since contested annually in various venues in the United Kingdom before the commencement of Super League and National Rugby League seasons.

Australian commentators sometimes deride the competition, citing the British home ground advantage and wintry conditions as reasons for Australian teams' poor performances.[1]

[edit] Results

[edit] 1997 tournament tables

The Australasian and European teams were each divided into two pools for the 1997 World Club Challenge. Each pool had six teams, with the exception of Australasia B, which had the two lowest placed Super League-aligned teams and the two newly formed teams: the Hunter Mariners and the Adelaide Rams. The finals series was contested between the top three teams in Australasia Pool A and Europe Pool A, and the top team from Australasia Pool B and Europe Pool B.

[edit] Australasia Pool A

Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
Brisbane Broncos 6 6 0 0 270 52 218 12
Auckland Warriors 6 6 0 0 268 82 186 12
Cronulla Sharks 6 6 0 0 230 54 176 12
Penrith Panthers 6 6 0 0 256 120 136 12
Canberra Raiders 6 5 1 0 302 108 194 10
Canterbury Bulldogs 6 4 2 0 218 121 97 8

[edit] Australasia Pool B

Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
Hunter Mariners 6 6 0 0 226 50 176 12
North Queensland Cowboys 6 5 1 0 228 92 136 10
Adelaide Rams 6 4 2 0 170 68 102 8
Perth Reds 6 4 2 0 148 104 44 8

[edit] Europe Pool A

Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
Wigan Warriors 6 2 4 0 89 212 -123 4
London Broncos 6 1 5 0 136 238 -102 2
Bradford Bulls 6 0 6 0 82 228 -146 0
St Helens RLFC 6 0 6 0 96 270 -174 0
Warrington Wolves 6 0 6 0 78 256 -178 0
Halifax Blue Sox 6 0 6 0 56 340 -284 0

[edit] Europe Pool B

Club Played Won Lost Drawn Bye For Against Diff. Points
Paris-St Germain 4 1 3 0 2 48 90 -42 2
Leeds Rhinos 4 1 3 0 2 64 138 -74 2
Oldham Bears 4 1 3 0 2 52 130 -78 2
Salford Reds 4 1 3 0 2 44 130 -86 2
Sheffield Eagles 4 1 3 0 2 54 168 -114 2
Castleford Tigers 4 0 4 0 2 52 116 -64 0

[edit] One-off matches and 1997 final

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
29 June 1976 Eastern Suburbs defeated St Helens 25-2 Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney 26,865
7 October 1987 Wigan defeated Manly-Warringah 8-2 Central Park Wigan 36,895
10 October 1989 Widnes defeated Canberra 30-18 Old Trafford Manchester 30,786
2 October 1991 Wigan defeated Penrith Panthers 21-4 Anfield Liverpool 20,152
31 October 1992 Brisbane Broncos defeated Wigan 22-8 Central Park Wigan 17,460
1 June 1994 Wigan defeated Brisbane Broncos 20-14 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 54,220
17 October 1997[1] Brisbane defeated Hunter Mariners 36-12 Erricson Stadium Auckland 12,000
22 January 2000 Melbourne Storm defeated St Helens 44-6 JJB Stadium Wigan 13,394
26 January 2001 St Helens defeated Brisbane Broncos 20-18 Reebok Stadium Bolton 16,041
25 January 2002 Bradford Bulls defeated Newcastle Knights 41-26 McAlpine Stadium Huddersfield 21,113
14 February 2003 Sydney Roosters defeated St Helens 38-0 Reebok Stadium Bolton 19,807
13 February 2004 Bradford Bulls defeated Penrith Panthers 22-4 McAlpine Stadium Huddersfield 18,962
4 February 2005 Leeds Rhinos defeated Bulldogs 39-32 Elland Road Leeds 37,208
4 February 2006 Bradford Bulls defeated Wests Tigers 30-10 Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield 19,207
23 February 2007 St Helens defeated Brisbane Broncos 18-14 Reebok Stadium Bolton 23,207
  1. ^ This is the result from the grand final of a 22 team 1997 World Club Challenge. For the results of the other matches in that tournament please see below.

[edit] 1997 tournament matches

[edit] Round 1

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
6 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. London Broncos 42-22 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 18,193
6 June 1997 Auckland Warriors def. St Helens 42-12 Knowsley Road St Helens 8,911
7 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Leeds Rhinos 42-20 Stockland Stadium Townsville 14,561
8 June 1997 Adealide Rams def. Salford Reds 50-8 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 11,346
8 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Halifax Blue Sox 70-6 Bruce Stadium Canberra 7,780
8 June 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Paris-St Germain 28-12 Charlety Stadium Paris 3,500
8 June 1997 Perth Reds def. Castleford Tigers 24-16 Wilderspool Warrington 3,378
9 June 1997 Wigan Warriors def. Canterbury Bulldogs 22-18 Belmore Sydney 10,680
9 June 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Bradford Bulls 20-16 Odsal Stadium Bradford 14,378

[edit] Round 2

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
13 June 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Leeds Rhinos 34-8 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 14,630
13 June 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Castleford Tigers 42-12 Wheldon Road Castleford 3,087
14 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Oldham Bears 54-16 Stockland Stadium Townsville 12,631
14 June 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 20-16 Odsal Stadium Bradford 13,133
15 June 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. Halifax Blue Sox 58-6 Belmore Sydney 5,034
15 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. London Broncos 66-20 Bruce Stadium Canberra 6,471
15 June 1997 Sheffield Eagles def. Perth Reds 26-22 Don Valley Stadium Sheffield 3,000
15 June 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Warrington Wolves 52-22 Wilderspool Warrington 3,850
16 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Wigan Warriors 34-0 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 14,833

[edit] Round 3

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
20 June 1997 Adealide Rams def. Oldham Bears 42-14 Adelaide Oval Adelaide 13,852
20 June 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Bradford Bulls 30-10 Odsal Stadium Bradford 10,756
21 June 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Salford Reds 44-8 Stockland Stadium Townsville 15,508
21 June 1997 Paris-St Germain def. Perth Reds 24-0 Charlety Stadium Paris 2,500
22 June 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Halifax Blue Sox 76-0 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 11,358
22 June 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Wigan Warriors 42-6 Bruce Stadium Canberra 9,098
23 June 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. London Broncos 34-18 Belmore Sydney 4,000
23 June 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Warrington Wolves 56-28 Wilderspool Warrington 4,428

[edit] Round 4

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
18 July 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Warrington Wolves 48-12 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,642
18 July 1997 Leeds Rhinos def. Adelaide Rams 22-14 Headlingley Stadium Leeds 11,269
18 July 1997 Oldham Bears def. North Queensland Cowboys 20-16 Boundary Park Oldham 2,961
19 July 1997 Perth Reds def. Sheffield Eagles 48-12 WACA Ground Perth 7,429
20 July 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 64-14 Ericcson Stadium Auckland 13,000
20 July 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Castleford Tigers 26-8 Topper Stadium Newcastle 3,379
20 July 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. Halifax Blue Sox 40-22 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,500
20 July 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Wigan Warriors 30-4 Central Park Wigan 12,816
21 July 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. St Helens 28-12 Shark Park Sydney 7,751
21 July 1997 London Broncos def. Canberra Raiders 38-18 The Stoop London 7,819

[edit] Round 5

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
25 July 1997 Auckland Warriors def. St Helens 70-6 Ericcson Stadium Auckland 8,500
25 July 1997 Adelaide Rams def. Oldham Bears 18-2 Boundary Park Oldham 3,315
26 July 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Warrington Wolves 44-0 Shark Park Sydney 6,112
27 July 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Paris-St Germain 32-4 Topper Stadium Newcastle 2,210
27 July 1997 Perth Reds def. Castleford Tigers 24-14 WACA Ground Perth 6,114
27 July 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. London Broncos 34-16 The Stoop London 9,846
27 July 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Salford Reds 24-14 Wheldon Road Castleford 7,448
27 July 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Halifax Blue Sox 42-12 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,620
28 July 1997 Penrith Panthers def. Bradford Bulls 54-14 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,332
28 July 1997 Wigan Warriors def. Canterbury Bulldogs 31-24 Central Park Wigan 10,280

[edit] Round 6

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
1 August 1997 Perth Reds def. Paris-St Germain 18-8 WACA Ground Perth 5,160
1 August 1997 Canterbury Bulldogs def. London Broncos 44-22 The Stoop London 6,923
2 August 1997 Cronulla Sharks def. Bradford Bulls 40-12 Shark Park Sydney 8,272
3 August 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Warrington Wolves 16-4 Lancaster Park Christchurch 6,500
3 August 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Sheffield Eagles 58-12 Topper Stadium Newcastle 1,965
3 August 1997 North Queensland Cowboys def. Leeds Rhinos 18-8 Headingley Stadium Leeds 12,224
3 August 1997 Salford Reds def. Adelaide Rams 14-12 The Willows Salford 6,995
3 August 1997 Canberra Raiders def. Wigan Warriors 50-10 Central Park Wigan 12,504
4 August 1997 Penrith Panthers def. St Helens 32-26 Penrith Oval Penrith 5,000
4 August 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Halifax Blue Sox 54-10 Thrum Hall Halifax 3,255

[edit] Playoff

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
20 August 1997 St Helens def. Paris-St Germain 42-4 Knowsley Road St Helens -

[edit] Quarter-finals

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
3 October 1997 Auckland Warriors def. Bradford Bulls 62-14 Ericsson Stadium Auckland 9,553
3 October 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Wigan Warriors 22-18 Central Park Wigan -
4 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. St Helens 66-12 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 6,438
6 October 1997 Canberra Raiders def. London Broncos 40-16 The Stoop London 6,239

[edit] Semi-finals

Date Result Score Stadium City Crowd
10 October 1997 Brisbane Broncos def. Auckalnd Warriors 22-16 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 9,686
11 October 1997 Hunter Mariners def. Cronulla Sharks 22-18 ANZ Stadium Brisbane 5,214

[edit] Statistics and records

Except where noted, these statistics do not include pool matches from the 1997 World Club Challenge.

[edit] Titles won (country of origin)

Wins Country
10 United Kingdom
5 Australia

[edit] Titles won (club)

Wins Club
3 Bradford Bulls, Wigan Warriors
2 Brisbane Broncos, Eastern Suburbs/Sydney Roosters, St Helens
1 Leeds Rhinos, Melbourne Storm, Widnes Vikings

[edit] Most points scored (individual)

Points Name (club/s)
24 Botica (Wigan / Widnes)
22 Fitzgibbon (Roosters)
18 Deacon (Bradford)
16 El Masri (Canterbury)
14 Johns (Newcastle)

[edit] Try scorers

Tries Name (club/s)
3 Bai (Melbourne / Bradford), Hancock (Brisbane), Smith (Brisbane)
2 El Masri (Canterbury), Fieldon (Bradford), Gene (Bradford), Johns (Newcastle), Offiah (Widnes), Paul (Bradford), Ross (Melbourne), Sailor (Brisbane), Sculthorpe (St Helens), Vainakolo (Bradford), Withers (Bradford), Zisti (Hunter), Gardner (St Helens)
1 Ayliffe (St Helens), Betts (Wigan), Buderus (Newcastle), Byrne (Roosters), Calderwood (Leeds), Carlaw (Hunter), Davies (Widnes), Edwards (Wigan), Evans (Melbourne), Fairfax (Roosters), Fittler (Roosters), Fitzgibbon (Roosters), Fitzhenry (Wests Tigers), Gartner (Bradford), Hill (Melbourne), Hodgeson (Wests Tigers), Hoppe (St Helens), Jones-Buchanan (Leeds), Joynt (St Helens), Kerrod Walters (Brisbane), Kevin Walters (Brisbane), Lolesi (Canterbury), Long (St Helens), Mather (Wigans), Mathers (Leeds), McGuire (Leeds), Meninga (Canberra), Morgan (Melbourne), Moreley (Roosters), Moule (Melbourne), Myers (Widnes), O'Neill (Brisbane), O'Sullivan (Canberra), P. Hulme (Widnes), Panapa (Widnes), Parker (Bradford), Patten (Canterbury), Payten (Roosters), Plath (Brisbane), Poching (Leeds), Priddis (Penrith), Pryce (Bradford), R Eyers (Widnes), Renouf (Brisbane), Robinson (Wigan), S. Walters (Canberra), Smith (Newcastle), Stevens (Roosters), Swann (Bradford), Townsend (Roosters), Walker (Brisbane), Walker (Leeds), Willis (Penrith), Wright (Widnes), Parker (Brisbane), Boyd (Brisbane), Berrigan (Brisbane), Lee (Brisbane), Meyers (Brisbane)

[edit] Goals (conversions and penalties)

Goals Name (club/s)
12 Botica (Widnes / Wigan)
9 Fitzgibbon (Roosters)
8 Deacon (Bradford)
5 Harris (Bradford), Sinfield (Leeds), Watts (Melbourne)
4 El Masri (Canterbury), Long (St Helens), Stephenson (Wigan)
3 Johns (Newcastle), Sculthorpe (St Helens), Withers (Bradford), Davies (Wigan), Parker (Brisbane), De Vere (Brisbane), Matterson (Brisbane)
2 Wood (Canberra)
1 Hodgeson (Wests Tigers), O'Neill (Brisbane), O'Sullivan (Canberra), Brass (Roosters), Lavea (Melbourne), O'Conner (Manly), Pimblett (Wigan)

[edit] Field goals

Goals Name (club/s)
1 Deacon (Bradford), Sinfield (Leeds)

[edit] Grounds

Venue City Number of Games Highest Crowd Lowest Crowd
Anfield Liverpool 1 20,152 20,152
ANZ Stadium Brisbane 1 54,220 54,220
Central Park Wigan 2 36,895 17,460
Elland Road Leeds 1 37,208 37,208
Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield 3 21,113 18,962
JJB Stadium Wigan 1 13,394 13,394
Ericcson Stadium Auckland 1 12,000 12,000
Old Trafford Manchester 1 30,786 30,786
Reebok Stadium Bolton 3 23,207 16,041
Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney 1 26,865 26,865


[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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