World Club Challenge

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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.

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

[edit] Australasia Pool B

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

[edit] Europe Pool A

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

[edit] Europe Pool B

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

^ 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

Gallaway, Jack (2001). The Brisbane Broncos: The Team To Beat. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702233420.
Gould, Phil "Humbling highlights Tigers' relience on Benji" The Sun Herald, 5 February, 2006. Retrieved 5 February, 2006.
Rugby Super League website
telegraph.co.uk website

[edit] External links

Category: Rugby league international tournaments