World Club Series

World Club Series
Current season or competition:
2015 World Club Series
World Club Challenge logo
Sport Rugby league football
Instituted 1989
Inaugural season 1976
Number of teams 2
World Champions South Sydney Rabbitohs (2015)
(1st Title)
Most titles Bradford Bulls
Leeds Rhinos
Wigan Warriors
Sydney Roosters
(3 Titles Each)
Broadcast partner Nine Network
Sky Sports
Related competitions National Rugby League
Super League

The World Club Series is an annual rugby league football competition played between the champion clubs of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League and two invited clubs from each competition, therefore six teams in total. The competition is an expanded form of the World Club Challenge which, until 2014, was a single match played at the beginning of each year between the two champions of each league. The two champions still compete in a single match for the World Club Championship trophy as in previous years, with the other four teams competing in, what are essentially, exhibition games.

The first such match was played in 1976 but did not become a regular fixture until the late 1980s. It was also punctuated in the 1990s by the Super League war but has been held every year since 2000. The South Sydney Rabbitohs are the current champions, having defeated St Helens 39–0 in 2015.

As the World Club Series championship match is a match between the premiers of the National Rugby League and Super League, it has been possible for teams from New Zealand, France and Wales to win it as well as England and Australia, however, to date only English and Australian sides have competed in and won the World Club Challenge.

History

World Club Challenge

1976-1999: Origin and Development

The competition began so unofficially in 1976 as a match between Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and RFL Premiership winners St Helens. In 1987, another unofficial match took place when Wigan chairman Maurice Lindsay invited Manly-Warringah to Central Park.[1]

The first official World Club Challenge was between Widnes and Canberra in 1989. Three further matches, each involving Wigan, were staged in the early 1990s with the 1994 match being staged in Australia. This would be the last time for 20 years that this would happen.

If only we could see a genuine contest between Wigan and Brisbane – a World Club final. Alas, it will never happen. Oh sure, a game might be arranged, but logistics dictate that one side would be out of season, rusty or tired, and away from home.

“
”

After the 1994 match logistical issues meant the concept was put on hiatus until it was revived in 1997.

With the outbreak of Australia's Super League War in 1995, the World Club Challenge was not staged again until 1997 when the competition was restructured to include twenty-two clubs from the Australian and European Super Leagues. With six rounds in two hemispheres and $1,000,000 prize money, the competition was prohibitively expensive to stage and reportedly lost over $5,000,000. This, coupled with the poor ratings and attendances both in Australia and Europe, led to the competition being postponed for two seasons.

1997 tournament trophy

Returning to a one-off match between the League champions in 1998, a World Club Challenge as a show-piece fixture at Ellis Park in Johannesburg was mooted.[3] However this didn't eventuate.

2000-2014: Regular competition

When it was resurrected in 2000, the World Club Challenge was once more played between the winners of the premierships in Australasia and Europe. During this period it was contested annually in the United Kingdom in late January or early February, before the commencement National Rugby League season and the Super League season. Over this period Super League teams dominated the tournament winning 7 of 9 matches, and this led one Australian commentator to deride the competition, citing the British refusal to play the game outside of the UK, the effects of jet lag on an Australian team who arrived in England only a couple of days before the game, and wintry conditions as reasons for Australian team's poor performance. In addition, the games were being played at the beginning of the new season instead of at the end of the previous season, so the rosters of both sides had normally changed considerably, therefore the teams that took the field were not the ones that won the respective premierships. For these reasons, it was viewed as merely a pre-season warm up game by most Australasian teams and fans.[4][5]

Since the 2009 tournament, its popularity has increased with stronger crowds and also with Australian teams taking the concept more seriously, Australian teams were arriving earlier to acclimatize the players and often organising warm up games with other super league sides and this created a much stronger showing and improved results. This also led to an increased movement to having the tournament staged in Australia. During this period, the matches were fixtured in late February, still before the commencement National Rugby League season but in the early stages of the new Super League season.

In mid-2012, a working party was established to look into the feasibility of conducting the match in either a neutral or Australian venue and also looking into the possibility of expanding the tournament.[6] In February 2013, the changes to the tournament were gaining momentum with the NRL and Super League agreeing to begin alternating the World Club Challenge tournament between UK and Australia. These changes were finally confirmed in November 2013, with both parties agreeing that the 2014 World Club Challenge would be the first held in Australia since 1994.[7] In addition, commencing in 2015, the tournament will also be expanded to six teams.[8] The World Club Challenge return to Australia in 2014 was a success with a solid crowd numbers of just over 31,000, with the Sydney Roosters defeating the Wigan Warriors 36-14. During the game, Sydney's Michael Jennings became the first player to score a hat trick of tries in a World Club Challenge.

World Club Series

2014-present: Expansion

In September 2014 it was announced that the World Club Challenge name would be changed to the World Club Series with six clubs participating - 3 from each league.[9] It took place between February 20–22, 2015, and featured three matches, the first and second essentially being two exhibition games and the final game being for the Championship trophy between the two respective premiers as in previous years.[10]

List of participants

(a) - World Club Series exhibition games only
(b) - Defunct team

World Club Series Participants
Colors Club Established City Stadium Capacity* Titles (Last)
 Bradford Bulls 1907 Bradford, West Yorkshire Odsal Stadium 27,491 3 (2006)
 Brisbane Broncos 1987 Brisbane, Queensland Suncorp Stadium 52,500 2 (1997)
 Canberra Raiders 1981 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Canberra Stadium 25,000 0
 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1934 Canterbury, New South Wales ANZ Stadium 84,000 0
 Hunter Mariners (b) 1995 Newcastle, New South Wales Topper Stadium 11,000 0
 Leeds Rhinos 1864 Leeds, West Yorkshire Headingley Carnegie Stadium 20,500 3 (2012)
 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 1946 Manly, New South Wales Brookvale Oval 23,000 1 (2009)
 Melbourne Storm 1997 Melbourne, Victoria AAMI Park 30,050 2 (2013)
 Newcastle Knights 1988 Newcastle, New South Wales Hunter Stadium 33,000 0
 Penrith Panthers 1966 Penrith, New South Wales Sporting Bet Stadium 22,500 0
 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908 Redfern, New South Wales ANZ Stadium 84,000 1 (2015)
 St George Illawarra Dragons 1998 Sydney, New South Wales WIN Jubilee Oval 22,000 1 (2011)
 St Helens 1873 St Helens, Merseyside Langtree Park 18,000 2 (2007)
 Sydney Roosters 1908 Sydney, New South Wales Allianz Stadium 45,500 3 (2014)
 Warrington Wolves (a) 1876 Warrington, Cheshire Halliwell Jones Stadium 18,000 0
 Wests Tigers 1999 Sydney, New South Wales Campbelltown Stadium 22,000 0
 Widnes Vikings 1875 Widnes, Cheshire Select Security Stadium 13,500 1 (1989)
 Wigan Warriors 1872 Wigan, Greater Manchester DW Stadium 24,057 3 (1994)

*capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity.

Results

World Club Challenge (1976-2015)

Year Final Information Stadium
style="color:gold;" "width:250px" |Champions style="color:black;" "width:80px" |Score style="color:red;" "width:250px" |Runners-up
1976 Eastern Suburbs 25–2 St Helens Sydney Cricket Ground
1987 Wigan Warriors 8–2 Manly Sea Eagles Central Park
1989 Widnes Vikings 30–18 Canberra Raiders Old Trafford
1991 Wigan Warriors 21–4 Penrith Panthers Anfield
1992 Brisbane Broncos 22–8 Wigan Warriors Central Park
1994 Wigan Warriors 20–14 Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium (Brisbane)
1997* Brisbane Broncos 36–12 Hunter Mariners Ericsson Stadium
2000 Melbourne Storm 44–6 St Helens DW Stadium
2001 St Helens 20–18 Brisbane Broncos Reebok Stadium
2002 Bradford Bulls 41–26 Newcastle Knights John Smith's Stadium
2003 Sydney Roosters 38–0 St Helens Reebok Stadium
2004 Bradford Bulls 22–4 Penrith Panthers John Smith's Stadium
2005 Leeds Rhinos 39–32 Canterbury Bulldogs Elland Road
2006 Bradford Bulls 30–10 Wests Tigers John Smith's Stadium
2007 St Helens 18–14 Brisbane Broncos Reebok Stadium
2008 Leeds Rhinos 11–4 Melbourne Storm Elland Road
2009 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 28–20 Leeds Rhinos Elland Road
2010 Melbourne Storm* 18–10 Leeds Rhinos Elland Road
2011 St George-Illawarra Dragons 21–15 Wigan Warriors DW Stadium
2012 Leeds Rhinos 26–12 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Headingley Carnegie Stadium
2013 Melbourne Storm 18–14 Leeds Rhinos Headingley Carnegie Stadium
2014 Sydney Roosters 36–14 Wigan Warriors Allianz Stadium

World Club Series (2015-Present)

In 2014 it was announced that the World Club Challenge would be expanded to 6 teams from 2015. Game 1 and Game 2 are exhibition matches that are played the days leading up to the final between the Super League and NRL Champions.

Year Game Result Stadium
style="color:gold;" "width:250px" |Winners style="color:black;" "width:80px" |Score style="color:red;" "width:250px" |Runners-up
2015 Game 1 St George Illawarra Dragons 18-12 Warrington Wolves Halliwell Jones Stadium
Game 2 Brisbane Broncos 14-12
(golden point)		 Wigan Warriors DW Stadium
Final South Sydney 39-0 St Helens Langtree Park

Statistics and records

NOTE: These statistics do NOT include any matches from the 1997 World Club Championship other than the final.

Statistics Source:[11][12]

Winners

Club Wins Winning years
1 Sydney Roosters3 1976, 2003, 2014
2 Leeds Rhinos3 2005, 2008, 2012
3 Bradford Bulls3 2002, 2004, 2006
4 Wigan Warriors3 1987, 1991, 1994
5 Melbourne Storm2 2000, 2013
6 St Helens2 2001, 2007
7 Brisbane Broncos2 1992, 1997
8 South Sydney Rabbitohs1 2015
9 St George Illawarra Dragons1 2011
10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles1 2009
11 Widnes Vikings1 1989

Match records

Greatest winning margin

Points Score Champions Runners-up Year
39 39–0 South Sydney St. Helens 2015
38 38–0 Sydney St. Helens 2003
38 44–6 Melbourne St. Helens 2000

Most points in a game by a winning side

Points Score Champions Runners-Up Year
44 44–6 Melbourne St. Helens 2000

Most points in a game by a losing side

Points Score Champions Runners-Up Year
32 39–32 Leeds Canterbury-Bankstown 2005

Highest scoring match

Points Score Champions Runners-Up Year
71 39–32 Leeds Canterbury-Bankstown 2005

Lowest scoring match

Points Score Champions Runners-Up Year
10 8–2 Wigan Manly-Warringah 1987

Individual records

Scoring

Total Points

Points Name (club/s) Appearances Tries Goals Drop Goals
36 Kevin Sinfield (Leeds) 6 0 17 2
24 Frano Botica (Wigan) 3 0 12 0
23 Paul Deacon (Bradford) 2 0 11 1
22 Craig Fitzgibbon (Sydney) 1 1 9 0

Most Points in a Game

Points Name (club/s) Tries Goals Opponenet Date
22 Craig Fitzgibbon (Sydney) 1 9 St. Helens 14 February 2003

Total Tries (2 or more)

Tries Name (club/s)
4 Ryan Hall (Leeds)
3 Marcus Bai (Melbourne / Bradford)
Michael Hancock (Brisbane)
Michael Jennings (Sydney)
Jamie Jones-Buchanan (Leeds)
Danny McGuire (Leeds)
Darren Smith (Brisbane)
Brett Stewart (Manly-Warringah)
2 George Carmont (Wigan)
Josh Charnley (Wigan)
Hazem El Masri (Canterbury-Bankstown)
Stuart Fielden (Bradford)
Ade Gardner (St Helens)
Scott Hill (Melbourne)
Andrew Johns (Newcastle)
Jamahl Lolesi (Canterbury-Bankstown, Wests Tigers)
Brett Morris (St George Illawarra)
Martin Offiah (Widnes)
Julian O'Neill (Brisbane)
Robbie Paul (Bradford)
Robbie Ross (Melbourne)
Paul Sculthorpe (St Helens)
Lesley Vainikolo (Bradford)
Anthony Watmough (Manly-Warringah)
Michael Withers (Bradford)
Nick Zisti (Hunter)

Most Tries in a Game

Tries Name (club/s) Opponent Date
3 Michael Jennings (Sydney) Wigan 22 February 2014

Total Goals

Goals Name (club/s)
17 Kevin Sinfield (Leeds)
12 Frano Botica (Wigan)
11 Paul Deacon (Bradford / Wigan)
9 Craig Fitzgibbon (Sydney)
8 Cameron Smith (Melbourne)

Drop goals

Goals Name (club/s)
2 Sinfield (Leeds)
1 Deacon (Bradford)
Long (St Helens)
Lydon (Wigan)
Sculthorpe (St Helens)
Soward (St George Illawarra)
Tomkins (Wigan)

Ground records

Venue City Number of Games Highest Crowd Lowest Crowd
Anfield Liverpool 1 20,152 20,152
ANZ Stadium Brisbane 1 54,220 54,220
Allianz Stadium Sydney 1 31,515 31,515
Central Park Wigan 2 36,895 17,460
Elland Road Leeds 4 37,208 27,697
Alfred McAlpine Stadium / Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield 3 21,113 18,962
Halliwell Jones Stadium Warrington 1 13,080 13,080
Headingley Stadium Leeds 2 21,062 20,400
JJB Stadium / DW Stadium Wigan 2 24,268 13,394
Ericsson 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
Langtree Park St Helens 1 18,000 18,000

Sponsors

Period Sponsor Name
1987-1991 Foster's Foster's World Club Challenge
1992-1993 None World Club Challenge
1994-1996 MMI MMI World Club Challenge
1997-2004 None World Club Challenge
2005-2009 Carnegie Carnegie World Club Challenge
2010 Gillette Gillette World Club Challenge
2011 Probiz Probiz World Club Challenge
2012 Heinz Big Soup Heinz Big Soup World Club Challenge
2013 Probiz Probiz World Club Challenge
2014 None World Club Challenge
2015- AFEX AFRX World Club Series

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Andy (3 October 2010). "Wigan prepare to slay Dragons after crushing St Helens in Grand Final". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Townsend, David (27 September 1992). "Just a Touch of the Old Dart". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Media). p. 47. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  3. ↑ Hadfield, Dave (1998-09-23). "League proposes show in S Africa". The Independent (UK: independent.co.uk). Retrieved 2010-04-24.
  4. ↑ Phil Gould (2006-02-05). "Humbling highlights Tigers' reliance on Benji". SMH. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  5. ↑ Langdon, Mark (2005-02-04). "Deadly Danny can get St Helens off to a flyer". The Racing Post (London, England: MGN LTD). Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  6. ↑ rleague.com (2012-05-20). "World Club Challenge Expansion Working Party Group". rleague.com. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  7. ↑ nrl.com (2013-11-18). "World Club Challenge confirmed for Aust". nrl.com. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  8. ↑ Steve Mascord (2013-02-14). "World Club Challenge to be held in Australia". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
  9. ↑ http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/world-club-series-details-announced/
  10. ↑ http://www.nrl.com/dragons-to-play-in-world-club-series/tabid/10874/newsid/82453/default.aspx
  11. ↑ "World Club Challenge Statistics". Rugby League Project. 2013-05-16.
  12. ↑ "1997 World Club Challenge Final Statistics". Rugby League Project. 2013-05-16.

Sources

External links