1987 World Club Challenge
Encyclopedia
The 1987 World Club Challenge (also known as the 1987 Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by brewers, Foster's
) was only the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's respective domestic rugby league
champions. 1986–87 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan
's chairman Maurice Lindsay
invited 1987 NSWRL season premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
to England for the game. After this memorable match, the World Club Challenge
was decided to be made an official annual feature on the rugby league calendar.
The match was played at 7:45pm on a dry Wednesday night, the 7th of October at Central Park, Wigan
. A crowd of 36,895 was in attendance for the game which was refereed by John Holdsworth
(Kippax). Graham Eadie
was on hand as a match commentator.
No tries were scored in what was a closely fought and, at times, spiteful encounter. Michael O'Connor opened the scoring for Manly with a successful penalty kick in only the second minute. Tempers flared as the match went on, punctuated by more penalties and a few unsavoury incidents:
Amongst all of these incidents Wigan's David Stephenson kicked four penalties, which in the end would prove decisive. The score was 8 - 2 in favour of the home side as the final whistle blew, prompting the overjoyed Wigan supporters to flood onto the field to celebrate with the players.
Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...
) was only the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's respective domestic rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
champions. 1986–87 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
's chairman Maurice Lindsay
Maurice Lindsay
Maurice Lindsay CBE was a Scottish broadcaster, writer and poet. He was born in Glasgow.After serving in World War II he became a radio broadcaster, also editing the 1946 anthology Modern Scottish Poetry, and writing music criticism. He later was Programme Controller at Border Television.His...
invited 1987 NSWRL season premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
to England for the game. After this memorable match, the World Club Challenge
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge 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...
was decided to be made an official annual feature on the rugby league calendar.
Match details
| Manly-Warringah | Position | Wigan  |
|---|---|---|
| Dale Shearer Dale Shearer Dale Shearer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger/fullback of Aboriginal heritage, he played club football in Queensland, New South Wales and England... |
Steve Hampson Steve Hampson Steve R. Hampson is a former rugby league player. He played for Wigan in the Rugby League Premiership and alongside fellow import Andy Gregory for the Illawarra Steelers in the NSWRL premiership in 1989. He played as a... |
|
| David Ronson | Richard Russell Richard Russell (rugby league) Richard Russell is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Wigan, Oldham, and Castleford Tigers, playing at , or , i.e... |
|
| Darrell Williams Darrell Williams Darrell Christopher Williams is a New Zealand rugby league selector and NRL judiciary member and a former footballer and coach.-Playing career:... |
David Stephenson David Stephenson David Stephenson is an English rugby league forward for Oldham Roughyeds, Hull Sharks, Rochdale Hornets. He was born in Leeds in 1972.-External links:**... |
|
| Michael O'Connor | Joe Lydon | |
| Stuart Davies | Henderson Gill Henderson Gill Henderson C. Gill is an English former rugby league footballer. He played for Bradford Northern, Wigan and Rochdale Hornets in the Rugby League Premiership and South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NSWRL competition... |
|
| Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international-level rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s... |
Shaun Edwards Shaun Edwards Shaun Edwards OBE is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player. He is defence coach of Wales, a post he has held since 2008. In November 2011 he left London Wasps after 10 years with the club, latterly as head coach.... |
|
| Des Hasler Des Hasler Des Hasler is an Australian former professional rugby league player and current head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He played in 309 matches in a first-grade career spanning 16 seasons. Most of his career was spent with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with whom he won two premierships... |
Andy Gregory Andy Gregory Andrew "Andy" Gregory is an English former rugby league footballer. A Great Britain international representative /, he is an inductee of the Wigan Hall of Fame... |
|
| Phil Daley Phil Daley Phil Daley is an Australian former premiership-winning and representative rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. His club career was played with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Chargers... |
Brian Case Brian Case Brian G. Case is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Blackbrook, Warrington, and Wigan, playing at , i.e... |
|
| Mal Cochrane Mal Cochrane Mal Cochrane is an Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league player for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership... |
Nicky Kiss Nicky Kiss Nicholas "Nicky" S. Kiss is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1970s and '80s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and at club level for Wigan, playing at , i.e. number 9.-International honours:... |
|
| Ian Gately | Shaun Wane Shaun Wane Shaun D. Wane is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s, and current coach at Wigan Warriors. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Wigan St Patricks, Wigan, Leeds, and Workington Town, playing at , /, i.e... |
|
| Ron Gibbs Ron Gibbs Ron Gibbs is a Australian rugby league player who played professionally in Australia and England.-Playing career:... |
Andy Goodway Andy Goodway Andy I. Goodway is an English former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for Oldham , Wigan, and Leeds in the Rugby League Premiership and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL competition. He played as a , or /... |
|
| Owen Cunningham Owen Cunningham Owen Cunningham is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 90s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles , North Queensland Cowboys and Northern Eagles.Following Manly's 1987 grand final victory,... |
Ian Potter Ian Potter (rugby league) Ian Potter is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England and at club level for Warrington, Wigan, and Leigh, playing at , or /, i.e... |
|
| Paul Vautin Paul Vautin Paul Vautin , is an Australian sports television personality and former rugby league footballer and coach. He currently hosts the NRL Footy Show and provides commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league matches... (c) |
Ellery Hanley Ellery Hanley Ellery Cuthwyn Hanley MBE is a British former rugby league footballer of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and former head coach of Great Britain, St. Helens and Doncaster. As a player he played most of his games at /, or /. Over a period of nineteen years, he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain,... (c) |
|
| Paul Shaw | Bench | Ian Lucas Ian Lucas (rugby league) Ian Lucas is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s, and coach of the 1990s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and at club level for Wigan, playing at , i.e. number 8 or 10, and at club level has coached for Leigh... |
| Jeremy Ticehurst | Bench | Ged Byrne |
| Mark Brokenshire | Bench | Graeme West Graeme West Graeme Leonard West is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach. Standing at six-foot, five inches, he played in the forwards, captaining English club Wigan... |
| Mark Pocock | Bench | Ian Gildart Ian Gildart Ian Gildart is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s who at club level has played for Wigan, Wakefield Trinity, and Oldham Bears, playing at , i.e... |
| Bob Fulton Bob Fulton Robert "Bob" Fulton AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.As a player Fulton won... |
Coach | Graham Lowe |
The match was played at 7:45pm on a dry Wednesday night, the 7th of October at Central Park, Wigan
Central Park (Wigan)
Central Park was a rugby league stadium in Wigan, England. It was the home of Wigan RLFC before the club moved to the JJB Stadium in 1999. Its final capacity was 18,000.-History:...
. A crowd of 36,895 was in attendance for the game which was refereed by John Holdsworth
John Holdsworth
John Holdsworth was a rugby league referee from Kippax, West Yorkshire, England.He took charge matches during the 1980s and 1990s and was the referee during the 1990 Challenge Cup final between Wigan and Warrington at Wembley.-References:...
(Kippax). Graham Eadie
Graham Eadie
Graham "Wombat" Eadie , is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s who has been named amongst the nation's finest of the 20th century...
was on hand as a match commentator.
No tries were scored in what was a closely fought and, at times, spiteful encounter. Michael O'Connor opened the scoring for Manly with a successful penalty kick in only the second minute. Tempers flared as the match went on, punctuated by more penalties and a few unsavoury incidents:
- Manly forward Ron Gibbs became the first person to be sent off in a World Club Challenge match for illegal use of the elbow when taking out Joe Lydon high after he attempted a drop-goal;
- an all-in brawl erupted after Dale Shearer was lifted in a tackle then started a punch-up in the ruck with Brian Case;
- after taking Paul Vautin over the touchline, a group of Wigan defenders went on to take him over the fence;
- later, when Shearer brought down Lydon in defence, he appeared to step on his opponent's head as he got up after making the tackle.
Amongst all of these incidents Wigan's David Stephenson kicked four penalties, which in the end would prove decisive. The score was 8 - 2 in favour of the home side as the final whistle blew, prompting the overjoyed Wigan supporters to flood onto the field to celebrate with the players.
External links
- 1987 World Club Challenge at wigan.rlfans.com
- 1987 World Club Challenge at rugbyleagueproject.com