| World Club Challenge | |
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 Current competition: 2010 World Club Challenge |
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| Sport | Rugby league |
| Instituted | 1989 |
| Inaugural season | 1976 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Region | International (RFL[1]) |
| World Champions | Manly Sea Eagles (2009) |
| Related competitions | Super League National Rugby League |
The World Club Challenge (also known as the Carnegie World Club Challenge for sponsorship purposes and also previously called the World Club Championship) is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club. The first match of its kind was played in 1976 but it did not become a regular part of the World rugby league calendar until the late 1980s. The World Club Challenge's history was also punctuated by the 1990s' Super League war but has been held every year since 2000. To date only English and Australian sides have competed in the World Club Challenge. Champion English sides have defeated their Australian counterparts in eleven out of the seventeen Challenges held to date. The 2010 World Club Challenge will be played in early 2010 between 2009 NRL premiers Melbourne Storm and 2009 Super League champions, Leeds Rhinos.
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 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 include 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. For results of this tournament, see 1997 World Club Challenge.
When it was resurrected in 2000, the World Club Challenge was once more played between the winners of the premierships in Australasia and Europe. It has been since contested annually in various venues in the United Kingdom in February or late January, before the commencement of the Super League and National Rugby League seasons. Australian commentators sometimes deride the competition, citing the British home ground advantage and the wintry conditions as reasons for Australian teams' poor performances. Also the fact that it is played at the start of the new season instead of at the end of the previous season also affects teams performances as usually the rosters have considerably changed so the teams that take the field are not the ones that won the respective premierships.
For these reasons and until it is played either in a neutral venue or in Australia every other year, it has been viewed as nothing more than a preseason warm up game by most Australasian teams and fans.[2][3]
Results
- Notes
^ a: This is the result from the grand final of a 22-team 1997 World Club Championship. For the results of the other matches in that tournament see 1997 World Club Challenge.
Statistics and records
Except where noted, these statistics do not include pool matches from the 1997 World Club Challenge.
Titles won (country of origin)
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 11 |  England |
| 6 |  Australia |
Overall record (club)
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Warriors |
3 (1987, 1991, 1994) | 1 (1992) | 75% |
| Bradford Bulls |
3 (2002, 2004, 2006) | - | 100% |
| Brisbane Broncos |
2 (1992, 1997) | 3 (1994, 2001, 2007) | 40% |
| St Helens |
2 (2001, 2007) | 3 (1976, 2000, 2003) | 40% |
| Leeds Rhinos |
2 (2005, 2008) | 1 (2009) | 67% |
| Sydney Roosters |
2 (1976, 2003) | - | 100% |
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
1 (2009) | 1 (1987) | 50% |
| Melbourne Storm |
1 (2000) | 1 (2008) | 50% |
| Widnes Vikings |
1 (1989) | - | 100% |
| Penrith Panthers |
- | 2 (1991, 2004) | 0% |
| Bulldogs RLFC |
- | 1 (2005) | 0% |
| Canberra Raiders |
- | 1 (1989) | 0% |
| Hunter Mariners |
- | 1 (1997) | 0% |
| Newcastle Knights |
- | 1 (2002) | 0% |
| Wests Tigers |
- | 1 (2006) | 0% |
Biggest wins
| Points | Score | Champions | Runners-up | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 38-0 | Sydney Roosters | St. Helens | 2003 |
| 38 | 44-6 | Melbourne Storm | St. Helens | 2000 |
| 24 | 36-12 | Brisbane Broncos | Hunter Mariners | 1997 |
Most points in a game by a winning side
| Points | Score | Champions | Runners-Up | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 44-6 | Melbourne Storm | St. Helens | 2000 |
| 41 | 41-26 | Bradford Bulls | Newcastle Knights | 2002 |
| 39 | 39-32 | Leeds Rhinos | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2005 |
Most points in a game by a losing side
| Points | Score | Champions | Runners-Up | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 39-32 | Leeds Rhinos | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2005 |
| 26 | 41-26 | Bradford Bulls | Newcastle Knights | 2002 |
| 20 | 28-20 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Leeds Rhinos | 2009 |
| 18 | 20-18 | St. Helens | Brisbane Broncos | 2001 |
| 18 | 30-18 | Widnes Vikings | Canberra Raiders | 1989 |
Highest scoring matches
| Points | Score | Champions | Runners-Up | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 39-32 | Leeds Rhinos | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2005 |
| 67 | 41-26 | Bradford Bulls | Newcastle Knights | 2002 |
| 50 | 44-6 | Melbourne Storm | St. Helens | 2000 |
Lowest scoring matches
| Points | Score | Champions | Runners-Up | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8-2 | Wigan Warriors | Manly Sea Eagles | 1987 |
| 15 | 11-4 | Leeds Rhinos | Melbourne Storm | 2008 |
| 25 | 21-4 | Wigan Warriors | Penrith Panthers | 1991 |
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) |
| 14 | Sinfield (Leeds) |
Try scorers
| Tries | Name (club/s) |
|---|---|
| 3 | Bai (Melbourne / Bradford), Hancock (Brisbane), Smith (Brisbane) |
| 2 | El Masri (Bulldogs), 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), B Stewart (Manly-Warringah), Watmough (Manly), McGuire (Leeds), Jones-Buchanan (Leeds) |
| 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), Hodgson (Wests Tigers), Hoppe (St Helens), Joynt (St Helens), Kerrod Walters (Brisbane), Kevin Walters (Brisbane), Lolesi (Bulldogs), Long (St Helens), Mather (Wigans), Mathers (Leeds), Meninga (Canberra), Morgan (Melbourne), Morley (Roosters), Moule (Melbourne), Myers (Widnes), O'Neill (Brisbane), O'Sullivan (Canberra), P. Hulme (Widnes), Panapa (Widnes), Parker (Bradford), Patten (Bulldogs), 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), C. Walker (Brisbane), Walker (Leeds), Willis (Penrith), Wright (Widnes), Parker (Brisbane), Boyd (Brisbane), Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane), Lee (Brisbane), Meyers (Brisbane), Hoffman (Melbourne), Donald (Leeds), Matai (Manly), Senior (Leeds), Hall (Leeds) |
Goals (conversions and penalties)
| Goals | Name (club/s) |
|---|---|
| 12 | Frano Botica (Widnes / Wigan) |
| 9 | Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters) |
| 8 | Paul Deacon (Bradford) |
| 7 | Kevin Sinfield (Leeds) |
| 5 | Harris (Bradford), Sinfield (Leeds), Watts (Melbourne) |
| 4 | Hazem El Masri (Canterbury), Long (St Helens), Stephenson (Wigan), Orford (Manly) |
| 3 | Johns (Newcastle), Sculthorpe (St Helens), Withers (Bradford), Davies (Wigan), Corey Parker (Brisbane), Michael De Vere (Brisbane), Terry Matterson (Brisbane) |
| 2 | Wood (Canberra) |
| 1 | Brett Hodgson (Wests Tigers), Julian O'Neill (Brisbane), O'Sullivan (Canberra), Brass (Roosters), Tasesa Lavea (Melbourne), O'Connor (Manly), Geoff Pimblett (Wigan) |
Field goals
| Goals | Name (club/s) |
|---|---|
| 2 | Sinfield (Leeds) |
| 1 | Lydon (Wigan), Long (St Helens), Sculthorpe (St Helens), Deacon (Bradford) |
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 | 3 | 37,208 | 32,569 |
| Alfred McAlpine Stadium / 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 |
Sources
- Gallaway, Jack (2001). The Brisbane Broncos: The Team To Beat. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3342-0.
- Rugby Super League website
- telegraph.co.uk website
External links
- World Club Challenge Preview
- World Club Challenge Review
- World Club Challenge at 188-rugby-league.co.uk
See also
References
- ^ Sky Sports (2009-03-02). "RFL cool on bigger Challenge". BSkyB. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12211_4995130,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ^ Phil Gould (2006-02-05). "Humbling highlights Tigers' reliance on Benji". SMH. http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/humbling-highlights-tigers-relience-on-benji/2006/02/04/1138958942946.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ^ Langdon, Mark (2005-02-04). "Deadly Danny can get St Helens off to a flyer". The Racing Post (London, England: MGN LTD). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-128086234.html. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
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