The 1987 World Club Challenge (also known as the 1987 Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by brewers,
Foster's) was the second
game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's domestic
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
champion clubs. Chairman of Britain's
1986–87 Rugby Football League season
The 1986–87 Rugby Football League season was the 92nd season of rugby league football. Sixteen clubs competed for the Championship which was determined by League position.
Season summary
The Silk Cut Challenge Cup Winners were Halifax who bea ...
champions
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
,
Maurice Lindsay, invited Australia's
1987 NSWRL season
The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in ...
premiers, the
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 ...
to Wigan for the game. After this memorable match, the
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 ...
was decided to be made an official annual feature on the rugby league calendar.
Originally,
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...
boss and former long-time Manly club secretary
Ken Arthurson
Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM (born 1 October 1929) is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles cl ...
proposed that regardless of the outcome, the prize money should be split evenly between the two clubs. However, Wigan chairman
Maurice Lindsay convinced Arthurson and the Manly club that it should be "winner takes all" as it would give the players even more incentive to take the game seriously if there was a bigger money pool for the winners.
Background
Wigan
The
1986–87 Rugby Football League season
The 1986–87 Rugby Football League season was the 92nd season of rugby league football. Sixteen clubs competed for the Championship which was determined by League position.
Season summary
The Silk Cut Challenge Cup Winners were Halifax who bea ...
was the 105th in the history of English club
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
. Coached by
Graham Lowe
Sir Graham Michael Lowe is the owner of the Bradford Bulls together with fellow New Zealander Andrew Chalmers. He is a New Zealand former rugby league football coach and administrator. He previously coached in Australia and England and was the ...
and captained by
Ellery Hanley
Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ...
, they finished at the top of the 1986–87 Rugby Football League to claim the
RFL Championship
The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...
. They had also won the
1986–87 John Player Special Trophy. By the time of the 1987 World Club Challenge Wigan had already begun playing in the
1987–88 Rugby Football League season
The 1987–88 Rugby Football League season was the 93rd season of rugby league football in Britain.
Season summary
During the season, defending champions Wigan hosted NSWRL champions, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the 1987 World Club Chall ...
.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The
1987 NSWRL season
The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in ...
was the 41st in the history of Australian club the
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 ...
. Coached by
Bob Fulton
Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian international rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great succe ...
and captained by
Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959) nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and formerly a professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since join ...
, they finished the regular season as minor premiers, then went on to win the
1987 NSWRL Grand Final
The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in ...
against the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
on 27 September 1987 to claim the Premiership.
Match details
The match was played at 7:45pm on a dry Wednesday night, 7 October at the
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
ground in
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
. A crowd of 36,895 was in attendance for the game, though unofficial estimates from those present put the attendance as high as 50,000. The game was refereed by RFL international referee
John Holdsworth. Former four-time Manly premiership winning
Graham Eadie
Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...
, who at the time was playing in England with 1987
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
winners
Halifax, was on hand as a match commentator as was dual Manly premiership player (and captain of the
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
team) and the skipper of the
1982 Invincibles,
Max Krilich
Max Krilich (born 25 October 1950 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a hooker for the Australia national team, playing in thirteen Tests from 1978 to 1983 and ...
.
No tries were scored in what was a closely fought and, at times, spiteful encounter.
Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to:
Politicians
* Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician
* Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...
opened the scoring for Manly with a successful penalty kick in the second minute, which would turn out to be the only time the Sea Eagles scored. Tempers flared as the match went on, punctuated by more penalties and a few unsavoury incidents:
*Manly forward
Ron Gibbs
Ron Gibbs (born 14 April 1962), also known by the nickname of "Rambo", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played professionally in Australia and England. An Australian Aboriginal and Country New South Wales representative three ...
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
Dale Shearer (born 25 July 1965), also known by the nickname of "Rowdy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative ...
was lifted in a tackle then started a punch-up in the ruck with
Brian Case;
*After taking Manly captain
Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959) nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and formerly a professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since join ...
over the touchline, a group of Wigan defenders went on to take him over the fence causing another all-in brawl;
*Later, when Shearer brought down Lydon in defence, he appeared to step on the
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
international's head as he got up after making the tackle.
Amongst all of these incidents Wigan's
David Stephenson kicked four penalty goals, which proved decisive. The score was 8-2 in favour of Wigan as the final whistle blew,
prompting the Wigan supporters to flood onto the field to celebrate with the players.
In his biography ''The Strife and Times of Paul Vautin'' written by Mike Coleman and released in 1992, the Manly captain told that the Sea Eagles players were so convinced that they would beat Wigan after their Grand Final win over the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
and after the undefeated
1986 Kangaroo Tour The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team (known as the Winfield Kangaroos due to sponsorship) plays a number of tour matches against British and French te ...
, that they treated the trip to England more as a holiday than anything serious and continued celebrating their Grand Final win while there. Vautin and the other Manly players believe that their poor attitude is what ultimately cost them the game. Wigan on the other hand, led by their Kiwi coach
Graham Lowe
Sir Graham Michael Lowe is the owner of the Bradford Bulls together with fellow New Zealander Andrew Chalmers. He is a New Zealand former rugby league football coach and administrator. He previously coached in Australia and England and was the ...
and featuring 11
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and one
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
internationals (compared to 5
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
and one New Zealand international for Manly), took the game very seriously.
References
External links
1987 World Club Challengeat wigan.rlfans.com
at rugbyleagueproject.com
{{Wigan Warriors
World Club Challenge
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles matches
Wigan Warriors matches
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 ...
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 ...
1987 rugby league matches