Wigan turn on the style to beat Cronulla and win World Club Challenge

A day after Warrington Wolves overcame Brisbane Broncos, Wigan Warriors became world champions by despatching Cronulla, scoring four tries to one. Perhaps there is a future in this World Club Series malarkey after all.

For two years the NRL has dominated this expanded competition, but looking further back, Super League’s record in the World Club Challenge as a whole generally made for uncomfortable reading. Seven of the previous eight battles to determine rugby league’s world champions had been won by sides from Australia, but with this Wigan side you always suspected they stood a marginally better chance than those who had tried before them.

After all, this was the side written off by so many midway through last year before becoming Super League champions. Chastised for the way they attacked throughout spells of their title-winning campaign last year, the one characteristic you can always be assured of with Shaun Wane’s side is resilience – and how they showed that here to hand the league’s reputation an enormous shot in the arm.

Warrington had already done that to an extent by beating Brisbane on Saturday night but this was the one that really mattered. Thirty years ago, a team largely comprising Wiganers – including Wane himself – beat Manly to help the club become world champions and, after a 23-year hiatus since their last victory, the town steeped so richly in the history of rugby league can say they possess the best team in the world once more, and again it is one built around homegrown talent.

Nine of Wigan’s 17 – including the outstanding George Williams – came through their own academy, a point well worth making when this victory is put into context. “We are very quick to look at the negatives but we’ve done a great thing this weekend,” Wane said. “There’s no excuses – two teams won this weekend and they were ours. It shows they’re human.”

“Everything should be positive now. We held our hands up last year because North Queensland and the like were good – now it’s time for us to pat ourselves on the back after a job well done.”

“It’s a great boost for Super League,” said the Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood, who confirmed talks have already begun about next year’s series. “It feels a lot better than 12 months ago and those who questioned the validity of international club rugby will have to think again.”

Williams’s play was pivotal in helping Wigan establish the lead after only four minutes, when Joe Burgess crossed for the first of a personal hat-trick. He would follow that up 20 minutes later with another – but Cronulla had their chances either side of Burgess’s second.

Twice they thought they had crossed through Luke Lewis and Kurt Capewell, but they were both ruled out by the video referee for offences in the buildup. But Wigan’s defensive efforts were equally as important in sealing a 10-0 half-time lead, which was improved on five minutes after half-time when Oliver Gildart crossed.

Cronulla were frequently asking questions of the Wigan defence but they had no answer until Jesse Raimen’s try on the hour mark. At that point, James Maloney’s conversion to make it 16-6 looked to have set up a thrilling finish, but handling errors from the Sharks and yet more last-ditch heroics in defence from Wigan ensured the NRL champions would not score again.

There was still time for another Wigan try as, on the hooter, Williams’s well-weighted kick was collected by Burgess for his hat-trick. Maybe, just maybe, there is real reason for British rugby league to look ahead with optimism this year after all.

Wigan Escare; Tierney, Gelling, Gildart, Burgess; Williams, Leuluai; Flower, Powell, Nuuausala, Bateman, Farrell, O’Loughlin. Interchange Tomkins, Clubb, Tautai, Sutton.

Tries Burgess 3, Gildart. Goals Escare 3.

Cronulla Beale; Raimen, Bird, Leutele, Capewell; Maloney, Townsend; Fifita, Brailey, Prior, Lewis, Graham, Gallen. Interchange Brown, Heighington, Bukuya, Tagataese.

Try Raimen. Goal Maloney.

Referee R Hicks (RFL). Attendance 21,011.