World Club Series
Current season or competition: 2016 World Club Series | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2015 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Country |  Australia England (RFL[1]) |
| Series winners | NRL (2nd title) |
| Most titles | NRL (2 titles) |
| Broadcast partner | Nine Network Sky Sports |
| Related competitions | |
| Series | |
|---|---|
The Dacia World Club Series is an annual rugby league football competition played between the clubs from the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League. The competition includes the World Club Challenge, a single match played between the two champions of each league.
The first series was played in 2015, while the World Club Challenge was first contested in 1976.
History
1976–2014: World Club Challenge
The competition began unofficially in 1976 as a match between Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and Premiership winners St Helens. In 1987, another unofficial match took place when Wigan chairman Maurice Lindsay invited Manly-Warringah to Central Park.[2]
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.
The Sydney Morning Herald, September 1992[3]
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.
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.[4] However this didn't eventuate.
2015-present: World Club Series
In September 2014 it was announced that the World Club Challenge would be expanded, with four extra clubs participating in the World Club Series.[5] The first edition took place between 20 and 22 February 2015 and featured three matches, the first and second essentially being two exhibition games and the final game being for the World Club Challenge match between the two respective premiers as in previous years.[6] The first World Club Series was won outright by the Australians with St. George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos narrowly beating Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors in the first two games to win the series and South Sydney beating St Helens RFC 39-0 in the World Club Challenge, which was the biggest winning margin in the history of the competition.
In 2016 a possible expansion to 8 teams was suggested. This would see two games being played in Australia and two games being played in the UK. The World Club Challenge would be played alternatively between the UK and Australia each year and a new points system would be introduced to determine the series winners: one point would be awarded to the winners of the first four games and two points to the winners of the Would Club Challenge.
Qualification
Qualification rules in the two league competitions mean that, in theory, teams from six different countries could compete in the competition (though only five countries could be represented in any one tournament). English, French and Welsh teams compete in the English league system and so are eligible to win any of the three available cups. In recent years, the Scottish league champions have been invited to take part in the first round of the Challenge Cup and so are eligible to win that competition and qualify for the series. In the NRL, teams from Australia and one team from New Zealand compete and so could win their league to qualify.
Super League
The three teams from Super League that qualify to play in the World Club Series are:
- Challenge Cup Winners
- League Leaders
- Grand Final Winners
If a team wins both Challenge Cup and League Leaders Shield then the Grand Final runners up will qualify. If a team completes the treble then the RFL will decide who the third team will be.
NRL
During the first Series in 2015, the NRL did not specify any specific qualification to play in the World Club Series. From 2016 however the three teams that qualify are:
- Minor Premiership Winners
- Grand Final Runners Up
- Grand Final Winners
If a team were to win both Minor Premiership and Grand Final then the team finishing second in the league would qualify unless they reached the Grand Final in which case the third placed team would qualify.
List of participants
- Only contains clubs who appeared in the World Club Series from 2015 onwards.
| World Club Series Participants | ||||||
| Colors | Club | Established | City | League | Apps (last) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brisbane Broncos | 1987 | Brisbane, Queensland | NRL
|
2 (2016) | |
|
Leeds Rhinos | 1864 | Leeds West Yorkshire | Super League
|
1 (2016) | |
|
North Queensland Cowboys | 1995 | Townsville, Queensland | NRL
|
1 (2016) | |
|
South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1908 | Redfern, New South Wales | NRL
|
1 (2015) | |
|
St George Illawarra Dragons | 1998 | Sydney, New South Wales | NRL
|
1 (2015) | |
|
Sydney Roosters | 1908 | Sydney, New South Wales | NRL
|
1 (2016) | |
|
St Helens | 1873 | St Helens, Merseyside | Super League
|
2 (2016) | |
|
Warrington Wolves | 1876 | Warrington, Cheshire | Super League
|
1 (2015) | |
|
Wigan Warriors | 1872 | Wigan, Greater Manchester | Super League
|
2 (2016) | |
*capacity for rugby league games may differ from official stadium capacity.
Results
| Game went to Golden Point extra time | |
| World Club Challenge |
- See World Club Challenge for list of finals before 2015.
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | St George Illawarra
|
18-12 | Warrington
|
Halliwell Jones Stadium |
| Brisbane
|
14-12 | Wigan
|
DW Stadium | |
| South Sydney
|
39-0 | St Helens
|
Langtree Park | |
| 2016 | Sydney
|
38-12 | St Helens
|
Langtree Park |
| Brisbane
|
42-12 | Wigan
|
DW Stadium | |
| North Queensland
|
38-4 | Leeds
|
Headingley Carnegie Stadium | |
| 2017 | Challenge Cup winners | Minor Premiers | ||
| League Leaders | Grand Final runners-up | |||
| SL Champions | NRL Champions |
Winners
| Rank | Club | Apps | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane |
2 | (2) 2015, 2016 | (0) |
| 2 | North Queensland |
1 | (1) 2016 | (0) |
| 3 | South Sydney |
1 | (1) 2015 | (0) |
| 4 | St George Illawarra |
1 | (1) 2015 | (0) |
| 5 | Sydney |
1 | (1) 2016 | (0) |
| 6 | St Helens |
2 | (0) | (2) 2015, 2016 |
| 7 | Wigan |
2 | (0) | (2) 2015, 2016 |
| 8 | Leeds Rhinos |
1 | (0) | (1) 2016 |
| 9 | Warrington |
1 | (0) | (1) 2015 |
* Bold: World Club Challenge Game
Series Wins
| Country | Score | Winning Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NRL |
6 | (2) 2015, 2016 |
| 2 | Super League |
0 |
Venues
| City | Stadium | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan |
DW Stadium | 2015, 2016 |
| 2 | St Helens |
Langtree Park | 2015, 2016 |
| 3 | Warrington |
Halliwell Jones Stadium | 2015 |
| 4 | Leeds |
Headingley Carnegie Stadium | 2016 |
Attendance
Highest
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Wigan | DW Stadium | 20,842 |
Lowest
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Warrington | Halliwell Jones Stadium | 13,080 |
Sponsors
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | none | World Club Series |
| 2016-2018 | Dacia | Dacia World Club Series |
Records
See also
References
- ^ Sky Sports (2 March 2009). "RFL cool on bigger Challenge". BSkyB. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
- ^ Wilson, Andy (3 October 2010). "Wigan prepare to slay Dragons after crushing St Helens in Grand Final". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
- ^ 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.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Hadfield, Dave (23 September 1998). "League proposes show in S Africa". The Independent. UK: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- ^ http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/world-club-series-details-announced/
- ^ http://www.nrl.com/dragons-to-play-in-world-club-series/tabid/10874/newsid/82453/default.aspx
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