World Club Challenge: The History

This year's Betfred World Club Challenge will be the 30th staging of the World Club Challenge - the annual rugby league match between the reigning Champions of the Betfred Super League and National Rugby League (NRL).

2024 will see current Super League Champions Wigan Warriors host NRL Premiers Penrith Panthers on Saturday 24 February, at the DW Stadium, in a highly-anticipated and blockbuster sell-out clash.

But what is the history of the World Club Challenge?

The first World Club Challenge was played in 1976 between Eastern Suburbs Roosters (now Sydney Roosters) and St Helens where the Roosters triumphed 25-2 on home soil, in front of a crowd of almost 27,000.

But this blockbuster contest between the two hemispheres would not become a regular fixture until the late 1980s and the first officially recognised and competitive World Club Challenge came in Widnes Vikings' beating of the then mighty Canberra Raiders.

It has since become a yearly fixture since the millennium with the exception of 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has firmly embedded itself as an exciting fixture in the global rugby league calendar.

There have been 18 different participants and 12 different winners since its invention, with five of these being top tier clubs at the time of their wins. This includes St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Widnes Vikings, Bradford Bulls, and Leeds Rhinos, respectively.

The most successful team is Australian side Sydney Roosters who currently hold the most World Club Challenge titles. They have won the competition an impressive five times, followed by Wigan's four times, with Bradford, Melbourne Storm and Leeds also winning on three occasions.

There have been 29 World Club Challenges to date, with the 30th one set to take place on Saturday night - but what are your favourite World Club Challenge memories?

We've compiled five memorable World Club Challenges...

Wigan v Manly Sea Eagles, 1987

In 1987, Wigan Warriors hosted the then glamorous Manly Sea Eagles at Central Park in the second ever unofficial game between the two Champions of the British and Australian leagues. Coming into this match, Wigan were entering their dominant and most successful era. They triumphed in the previous season of 1986, finishing 15 points clear at the top of the First Division and winning in the Premiership Trophy Final to claim the Champions title.

Coached by the illustrious Graham Lowe, who holds a remarkable coaching record to date, and captained by rugby league legend Ellery Hanley, Wigan went on to beat Manly 8-2 on home soil in what unfolded as a fiery and low-scoring, tryless affair. Wigan greats such as Joe Lydon, Shaun Edwards, Shaun Wane and Andy Gregory all featured in this match, as they went up against a star-studded Manly Sea Eagles side - and it was a brutal encounter of the two best sides in the world. Prolific centre David Stephenson would then go on to kick four successive penalties to seal a legendary win for Wigan, as celebrations erupted in front of an almost 40,000 crowd.

It was only after this memorable match that the decision was made to officially recognise the World Club Challenge, making this an annual feature on the rugby league calendar - and a ruthless Wigan went on to win a record 29 games in a row that same year.

Widnes v Canberra Raiders, 1989

The first officially recognised World Club Challenge came in the form of Widnes' famous beating over Tim Sheens' Canberra Raiders. A talented Widnes outfit came into the World Club Challenge on the back of two successive Premiership Trophy wins, whilst Canberra became the first team to win a Grand Final from 4th place in the Australian competition.

Under the lights at Old Trafford, Widnes found themselves trailing 0-12 to begin with, following fancy tries from Mal Meninga and Chris O'Sullivan for the Raiders. Widnes would hit back however to take the scores to 10-12 heading into the break. A solid performance from Martin Offiah in which he bagged a brace, as well as impressive tries from Widnes icons Paul Hulmes, Jonathan Davies and Richard Eyres, meant Widnes would emerge victorious 30-18, in their one and only World Club Challenge appearance.

Brisbane Broncos v Wigan, 1994

1994 was the year of an unforgettable World Club Challenge - the first and only English win over in Australia - until St Helens' dramatic victory in 2023. Wigan came into this match on the back of finishing top of the league for five consecutive seasons, by now a proven powerful force within British rugby league, and they faced Wayne Bennett's star-studded Brisbane side.

It was Wigan's fourth World Club Challenge appearance, and they would be seeking revenge from their 1992 WCC defeat to Brisbane. And it was a showpiece event Down Under as two outstanding tries from Wigan would put them 0-12 up in the first 20 minutes. Denis Betts touched down from a trademark Shaun Edwards kick, who captained his side on the night, and Barrie-Jon Mather's side-stepping would lead to another fantastic try - Wigan now well renowned for this quality.

Brisbane would hit back though as a scampering run from dummy half caught Jason Robinson off guard, as Wendell Sailor went over, but perhaps the most memorable moment of the match was when one-club man and the legend Robinson himself scooped up a loose ball and batted off numerous Broncos defenders to race away and score - further extending Wigan's lead just minutes into the second half.

The atmosphere was truly electrifying, and to date, this stunning spectacle holds the record for the highest attendance of a World Club Challenge with 54,220, and it was here Wigan recorded their third World Club Challenge win - 14-20.

Leeds Rhinos v Manly Sea Eagles, 2012

Fast forward to the 21st century and who remembers Leeds Rhinos' incredible victory over Manly Sea Eagles at Headingley Stadium? This was the Rhinos' third World Club Challenge appearance, following two victories in 2005 and 2008 over Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm, respectively. But could they be third time lucky? The answer is yes, they could.

The Rhinos came into this match having been crowned Champions once again in 2011 - an applaudable and magnificent four times in the last five seasons, a period of time also known as their "Golden Era."

Player of the Match Ryan Hall shone on the night with two tries of individual brilliance in the first half. But, ultimately, it was a collective team effort from the Rhinos Golden Generation, which allowed Leeds to secure an emphatic five-try victory (26-12) in front of a 20,000+ home crowd, as they became the second team behind Bradford Bulls to record a third World Club Challenge win.

In recent years, the World Club Challenge has also been tested out as a World Club Series. 2015 and 2016 saw three Super League and three NRL games participate in the new World Club series concept, before two games took place in 2017. But in 2018, the decision was made to return to a one-game format, and an agreement was made to begin to alternate the World Club Challenge between the UK and Australia.

Penrith Panthers v St Helens, 2023

More recently and fresh in fans' minds, who can forget the sensational World Club Challenge that took place last year? St Helens, the then four times-successive Champions travelled around the world to NRL Premiers Penrith Panthers' home ground, becoming the first team to win in Australia since 1994 - and the first ever in the Super League era.

This was also the first World Club Challenge to take place since 2020, after two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And it was a tale of two halves when the Saints went 10-0 up, courtesy of tries from Jack Welsby and Konrad Hurrell. But the elite Panthers would hit back after the interval from Izack Tago and Isaah Yeo - two stars who featured in the 2022 Grand Final for Penrith.

The pulsating contest saw a score-line of 12-12 and as the match headed into a nail-biting golden point, the ball quickly found Saints playmaker Lewis Dodd, who successfully kicked a drop-goal to clinch a dramatic and historic World Club Challenge victory - and World Champions glory.

Looking ahead to 2024 and the now three-successive times NRL Premiers Penrith will be looking to claim their first ever World Club Challenge title in their history on Saturday, but will also be seeking retribution following their crushing defeat to St Helens in 2023, over on the Panthers' home territory.

Australian sides have won seven of the last nine World Club Challenge meetings, although Penrith are yet to join this statistic. Could this all be set to change?

A victory on Saturday would be their first, as the Panthers are set to feature in what will be their fourth World Club Challenge appearance. On the other hand, a win for Wigan Warriors would be their record-equalling fifth in total, having had nine attempts at becoming World Club Champions.

As history continues to be made, who will be crowned World Club Champions this time around?

A full 2024 Betfred World Club Challenge preview to follow.

The 2024 Betfred World Club Challenge is a sell-out clash between current Super League Champions Wigan Warriors and NRL Premiers Penrith Panthers, which will take place on Saturday 24 February at the DW Stadium, K.O. 8pm. This hotly-anticipated event will be available to watch live on BBC, Sky Sports and SuperLeague+.