Wigan Warriors win World Club Challenge
Matt Peet's side beat NRL Champions Penrith Panthers in nail-biting game
Last updated 25th Feb 2024
A sold out crowd at the DW Stadium saw Wigan Warriors beat champions Penrith Panthers in Rugby League's World Club Challenge.
In a nail-biting game, which saw an 80th minute Penrith try disallowed by the video referee, they managed a 16-12 win over the NRL champions.
Tries from Abbas Miski, Kruise Leeming and Jake Wardle, plus four points from the boot of Harry Smith, ensured Matt Peet's men emulated Super League rivals St Helens, who edged the same team in Sydney one year ago.
Yet Wigan were forced into an agonising wait for confirmation of their victory after Taylan May crashed over on the final hooter - only for replays to determine he had been bundled into touch.
As Wigan celebrated the big-screen verdict, the agony was evident on the face of Penrith's resident superstar Nathan Cleary, who could not prevent his side, all-but three of whom also started in the golden point loss to Saints, failing in their quest to land the trophy for the first time.
Wigan join the Sydney Roosters as five-time winners of the prestigious, if inconsistently contested, pinnacle of the global club game.
They boast a stirring history in the competition, their notoriously brutal initial win over Manly at Central Park in 1987, starring the likes of Ellery Hanley, Joe Lydon and Henderson Gill, followed by subsequent triumphs in 1991, 1994 and 2017.
In last years game, rivals and neighbours St Helens scored a historic win down under when they beat the panthers 12-13 in Penrith.