World Club Challenge Vredict: Controversy aplenty but Wigan Warriors deserve their place in History

[josie andrews]

LIKE all the great battles in human history, it finished with 24,000 people staring at a 60-square-metre LED screen.

The fate of the world – or the World Club Challenge, at least – hung in the balance as replay after replay offered little indication of whether Wigan had clung on for victory or been thwarted at the last.

The final play of a truly absorbing contest had seen Taylan May go into the left corner while the hooter sounded. Had Jai Field and Abbas Miski done enough to prevent the Penrith man from levelling the tie?


Liam Moore, the on-field official, thought they had. Chris Kendall, the video official, had to find evidence a try had been scored.

He studied the struggle seven times, at four different angles, over two minutes – it felt like so much longer – but could see nothing.

All eyes transfixed on that screen, up flashed the two words that sparked delirium in the stands, on the pitch, and no doubt in homes among those unable to secure a ticket to this sell-out fixture and wonderful all-round occasion.

To define this as a match decided by one refereeing decision would be a terrible mistake, however. Firstly, because it was one of the great club games played on English soil in recent times. And secondly, because it was in fact decided by two refereeing decisions.


The other was just as crucial and perhaps more contentious. The only try of the second half came from Jake Wardle, reversing a 12-10 half-time deficit into Wigan’s 16-12 victory, but was it indeed a try?

Again, lengthy video adjudication was required, Again, the evidence was inconclusive. Again, the initial call on the field was crucial.

When Wardle squirmed his way towards the try-line, after beating Dylan Edwards and Brian To’o to a Field grubber, Moore had a good look at the tangle the three men were in before sending the decision to his colleague with an on-field verdict of a try.

With no clear proof the ball had not been grounded, last year’s Harry Sunderland Trophy winner Wardle turned out to be the match-winner here.

But this was not a game about any individuals – including the officials, who had one hell of a job on their hands. Yes, the stars came out for Wigan – Field was supreme and French not far behind, while Harry Smith was impeccable again in a big game – but so did every one of them.

Brad O’Neill was tougher than granite at hooker. Mike Cooper was immense on his first start in ten months. Even young Harvie Hill stood up to be counted off the bench.

As in the Grand Final victory which brought them to this game, the collective was the star. And like at Old Trafford, that showed particularly in defence.

Wigan spent so much of this game on the back foot, defending their line, clinging on for their lives. They were breached twice in the latter stages of the first half, but no more.


As well as Field’s contribution to the game’s final action, equally memorable was his covering tackle, also on May, ten minutes earlier to deny what seemed a certain Panthers try.

But most of their defensive work wasn’t so flashy, and won’t make it onto the highlight reel. It was the repeated effort, the refusal to bend under pressure, the toughness but also the smarts and the concentration to repel one of the all-time great club sides, time and again.

Their justifiably proud coach, Matt Peet, said: “We work hard on it. The players trust one another and work their backsides off. We were always confident we could defend.

“It’s pure want, desire, commitment. It’s really caring about a game of rugby that symbolises a group of people, a town and a club.


“You don’t get that sort of commitment unless you care about one another. We did a lot of good stuff technically, but if you don’t have that care it doesn’t stand up to the test.”

Penrith shaded many areas of the game, enjoying the greater share of territory, but simply couldn’t match that.

Coach Ivan Cleary reflected on “a game of inches” with a wry smile after those two major calls but said: “Wigan should be congratulated on their defence. They were very desperate; they came up with a lot of scramble.

“Our attack was a little clunky at times. That’s not surprising in our first game of the season. In the end we rue some missed opportunities.


“We would expect to take advantage of our field position more, but more to the point in three trips to our end Wigan scored three tries.”

They could have had another, mind. Another moment from this rich tapestry of a match that will surely live long in the memory is one of the greatest tries never scored.

With nine minutes remaining, a Penrith knock-on gave the Warriors a scrum in the middle of the halfway line. Carry downfield and defend the territorial advantage to the end? Not a bit of it.

Instead, the ball was fed in by Smith, returned to the halfback on the opposite side and he booted straight down the ground. Nobody could believe it – how reckless! But then along chased French, the ball bounced just right, and they had scored under the posts. Nobody could believe it – how brilliant!

Alas, the replay showed French to be marginally in front of the kick, and Wigan would have to defend for their lives until the end. But it said so much about this team – not just their mentality, to attempt such an audacious play at such a moment, but also their capacity to produce rugby of absolute beauty amid all their grit.

“It wasn’t the obvious play at the time, but I love the fact they had the courage to put that play on,” said Peet.

“I was gutted it didn’t get given, because I think it would have been an unbelievable moment for Rugby League.”

A crying shame, but Wigan still delivered more than enough great moments. The opening try was another, with French again at the heart, this time as the creator. On their first attack, he cut out three defenders with an outrageous no-look pass that sent Miski into the corner.


Penrith had enjoyed the early pressure, only to be repelled by superb Warriors defence and some of their own poor execution, on the last play especially. Wigan then going down the other end for a ninth-minute lead turned out to be a decent microcosm of the game as a whole.

Another top defensive set followed, and then To’o was exceptionally kept out on the Panthers’ next visit after a shift wide, with Field – not for the final time – the man racing across to save the day.

It took Penrith until the 27th minute to break through. After the immense Isaah Yeo almost broke through on the fourth tackle, Nathan Cleary lofted a kick to the left edge which neither Miski nor Adam Keighran could claim. Mitch Kenny gratefully did instead, feeding Cleary on his inside to finish what he started, and add the conversion for a 6-4 advantage.

But that lead changed hands twice more in an action-packed end to the first half. Six minutes later, Cleary lost possession as Penrith tried to play their way to the try-line, so Wigan again showed them how it was done.

A wonderful move flowed through the hands of Kruise Leeming, French, Keighran and Miski going wide, then back inside through Isa for Leeming to finish.

Smith’s goal made it 10-6 to the Super League side but, in the final minute of the half, a Yeo offload went to Dylan Edwards, who spotted Wigan’s defenders rush wide to cover an overlap and stepped inside, finding a gap to surge through with precision.

The boot of Cleary gave Penrith the half-time advantage by two, while the sight of Leeming limping off with an ankle injury was a further blow. But on the ropes, they came out swinging again in a frenetic, dramatic and occasionally mad second half.

Most of the highlights have already been covered. All the action in between, not least the innumerable crucial tackles, can’t be but every effort and every player deserved appreciation and got it from a packed house that was totally absorbed in the game.

If any should get a special credit, it’s Liam Marshall forcing an error from Izack Tago by shooting out of the line. Moments later, Wardle registered the winning try.

As the clock ticked down, and the big moments – Field’s first try-saver on May, and the French no-try – brought us no closer to knowing the outcome, the nerves were shot for just about every agonised fan in the ground.

But not so for Wigan’s heroes on the field, resolute until the very last, and so quite rightly now able to call themselves champions of the world.

Peet was keen afterwards to give credit to every member of staff at the club, and certainly those involved in organising the night deserve a pat on the back. From the pre-match contributions of Heather Small and Russell Watson to the rugby posts lighting up, this was given the big-match feel that it deserved.


Credit to Penrith, too, for travelling over, giving the competition such respect, and losing – for a fourth time in four World Club Challenge attempts, and second in succession – with grace.

But all at Wigan should savour their part in this record fifth world title. A great night, for a great club.

GAMESTAR: Jai Field showed some of his electric touch in attack but mostly stood out for his defence, with several monumental try-saving efforts.

GAMEBREAKER: Those two crucial referee decisions, for sure, but let’s not take away from the heart and desire evident in Wigan’s commitment throughout.


HIGHLIGHT REEL: From the pre-game build-up to the post-game celebrations, with everything that happened in between – get it all on a reel and play it over and over.

MATCHFACTS

WARRIORS

1 Jai Field
2 Abbas Miski
3 Adam Keighran
4 Jake Wardle
5 Liam Marshall
6 Bevan French
7 Harry Smith
14 Mike Cooper
9 Brad O’Neill
10 Liam Byrne
11 Willie Isa
12 Liam Farrell
13 Kaide Ellis
Subs (all used)
15 Patrick Mago
17 Kruise Leeming
19 Tyler Dupree
20 Harvie Hill
18th man (not used)
26 Zach Eckersley

Tries: Miski (9), Leeming (33), Wardle (53)
Goals: Smith 2/3

PANTHERS

1 Dylan Edwards
2 Sunia Turuva
3 Izack Tago
4 Taylan May
5 Brian To’o
6 Jack Cole
7 Nathan Cleary
8 Moses Leota
9 Mitch Kenny
10 James Fisher-Harris
11 Luke Garner
12 Liam Martin
13 Isaah Yeo
Subs (all used)
14 Tyrone Peachey
15 Lindsay Smith
16 Liam Henry
17 Matt Eisenhuth
18th man (not used)
18 Brad Schneider


Tries: Cleary (27), Edwards (40)
Goals: Cleary 2/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 10-12; 16-12

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Warriors: Jai Field
Panthers: Isaah Yeo

Penalty count: 4-5
Half-time: 10-12
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 24,091


https://www.totalrl.com/world-club-chal ... n-history/