The 2014 World Club Challenge was the 15th consecutive annual (and 22nd overall)

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) and the European Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. The first such match was pl ...

and was contested by

Super League XVIII The 2013 Super League season was the 18th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leaders' Shield over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend), after which the ...

champions,

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

and 2013 NRL Premiers, the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. The 2014 World Club Challenge marked a return to Australia, 20 years after the last Australian based game. It was played on 22 February 2014 at Allianz Stadium in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. The Roosters won the match 36–14. By winning the World Club Challenge, the Roosters were the only team to win on Australian soil, but are the only team to have won twice. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, Eastern Suburbs, the 1975 NSWRFL Premiers, defeated the 1975–76 English champions St. Helens 25–2 in front of 26,865 at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

Background

This game marked the first time that these two clubs have played each other. It was the third final for Sydney and the sixth final for Wigan and was the first time in 20 years that it has been staged in Australia. The last World Club Challenge staged in Australia was in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and coincidentally, also featured Wigan. In 1994, Wigan defeated the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

20–14 in front of what is still the WCC record attendance of 54,220 at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

. After the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

had been staged in England, it was agreed to transfer this game to Australia. The Sydney Roosters had as many as 16 players who had already travelled across to England for the Rugby League World Cup.

Sydney Roosters

The Roosters finished the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

in 1st place to claim the minor premiership and on 6 October 2013 defeated the 4th-placed

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

26 - 18 in the

2013 NRL Grand final The 2013 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2013 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 6 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the minor premiers Sydney Roosters and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The Roosters won ...

, qualifying Sydney for their third World Club Challenge, and first since 2003. Tony Smith, the coach of Wigan's 2013 Grand final opponents,

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

, flew to sydney to assist the Roosters in their preparation for the World Club Challenge.

Wigan Warriors

Wigan finished

's regular season in 4th place and on 5 October 2013 defeated 2nd-placed

30 - 16 in the

2013 Super League Grand final The 2013 Super League Grand Final was the 16th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of Super League XVIII. The game was held on Saturday 5 October 2013, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by Wigan Warrio ...

, qualifying the Warriors for their sixth World Club Challenge overall. Having already played their first game of the 2014

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

season, Wigan traveled down under. They prepared for the World Club Challenge with a match in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

against a

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

side which was heavily depleted due to the upcoming

Auckland Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...

tournament. Wigan won the match at

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the ...

46–22.

Teams

Match details

References

External links

{{Sydney Roosters World Club Challenge Sydney Roosters matches Wigan Warriors matches Rugby league in Sydney International rugby league competitions hosted by Australia