World Club Challenge Wigan Warriors win a huge boost for Super League but is gap to NRL closing?

To get some understanding of just how hard Wigan Warriors had to do it at times in Saturday’s World Club Challenge win over Penrith Panthers, consider the time the hosts spent defending in their own half.

Of the 29mins 52secs Penrith had the ball for during the match, nearly 17 minutes of that was spent in the Betfred Super League champions’ territory and 6mins 29secs in Wigan’s 20-metre zone. By contrast, the Warriors had just 5mins 22secs of possession in the Panthers’ half, and a shade over one minute in their 20-metre zone.

Jai Field chasing down Taylan May when he looked all but certain to score and helping to do enough, in the eyes of the video referee, to deny the Samoa international three-quarter on the very last play of the game underscored Wigan’s immense defensive effort which helped secure a 16-12 win.

• Wigan Warriors snatch dramatic World Club Challenge win over Penrith Panthers
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The stern defence which proved enough to defy a team which has swept all before them in the NRL three seasons running was a hallmark of Matt Peet’s team as they claimed the Super League title in 2023, conceding fewer points than any other team in the regular season, and for ex-Wigan player Sam Tomkins it was just what he has come up against when on the opposing side – as well as being a big moment for the sport in this country.

“It’s a huge boost for Super League and for English rugby league, but for this club, they’re probably right at the top of the pile for what they do on and off the field,” Tomkins, who was on the losing team as the Warriors ground out victory against Catalans Dragons in last year’s Grand Final, told Sports.

“We saw a classic Wigan Warriors DNA game – they’re a tough team. I’ve experienced it the last five years, unfortunately, playing against them.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s minute one or 80, whether it’s kick-chase, third man – all the little one-per-cents, they get right.

“They needed every single one of those, it could have gone either way with seconds left, and Wigan deserved it.”

Super League

Wigan’s win marked the second year in a row the Super League champions have triumphed over the NRL premiers in the World Club Challenge, the first time that has happened since clubs from these shores won five editions running between 2004 and 2008.

That was the culmination of a total of seven wins for Super League sides in the first nine editions since the World Club Challenge became an annual fixture 24 years ago, but prior to the resumption of the match last year following a two-year abeyance due to the pandemic, only Leeds Rhinos in 2012 and Wigan in 2017 had interrupted the NRL’s dominance since 2009.

That desire to prove a club from European rugby league’s elite competition can be a match for a side from the NRL is something which was keenly felt among the Wigan squad by player of the match Bevan French, who began his career back home in Australia with Penrith’s bitter Western Sydney rivals Parramatta Eels.

“It’s a weird one for me, coming into this,” French told Sports. “A lot of my team-mates being from England, it means a lot to them, and I tried to put myself in their shoes with the way Super League is compared to the NRL here.

“We’ve had past players come in this year and talk about what it means when they won this, and they’re still spoken about 30 years down the track.

“I know what it means to this town, this community and the players.”

While Wigan have earned the right to call themselves the best club side in the world by virtue of their victory over Penrith, the wider question about whether or not Super League is closing the gap on the NRL will rage on.

Those who will argue the Australasian competition remains the superior product will point out the result of a one-off game counts for nothing compared to the week-to-week intensity of the NRL, and that Penrith were playing their first game of the year.

They will no doubt highlight results when expanded events have been held too, such as the 1997 World Club Championship when no European clubs reached the semi-finals and the World Club Series run from 2015 to 2017, where Warrington Wolves’ win over Brisbane Broncos and Wigan’s triumph against Cronulla Sharks were the only victories for Super League teams in eight matches.

Nevertheless, one person who believes the gap at the top of the two competitions has narrowed is Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary, having seen his all-conquering team beaten in the World Club Challenge for the second year in a row.

“I think definitely the better team [won], absolutely,” Cleary told Sports.

“I think that’s the great thing about this particular competition, is that we get to see the best teams together.

“It’s a pretty good spectacle, I would say, and Wigan were too good tonight.”

Watch every match of the 2024 Super League season, including Rivals Round, Magic Weekend, the play-offs, and men’s, women’s, and wheelchair Grand Finals, live on Sports. Stream rugby league and more of sport contract-free with NOW.