2000 NRL season
The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 200 ...
premiers, 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 ...
.2001 World Club Challenge at superleague.co.uk /ref> The Broncos made the trip to England to play St Helens before the start of the 2001 NRL and Super League seasons and were beaten by two late drop goals (known as a field goal in Australia, but not to be confused with the archaic field goal) from the home side in the final minutes.
St Helens R.F.C.
St Helens R.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside who compete in the Super League, the top tier for rugby league in Great Britain.
They are the current Champions, having won the last 4 consecutive titles, and becom ...
who had finished in 2nd place, after both teams had played their way through the finals series. St Helens had played in the previous World Club Challenge, suffering a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the Melbourne Storm.
Brisbane Broncos
The 2000 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the
2000 NRL season
The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 200 ...
. It was contested by 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 ...
, who had finished the regular season in 1st place, and 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 ...
, who had finished in 2nd place, after both teams played their way through the finals series. Prior to the previous World Club Challenge, the Broncos had contested the three preceding it, winning twice.
Teams
Match details
The match was played in wintery conditions on the night of Friday the 26th of January at
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming rig ...
in
Bolton, England
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...
before a crowd of 16,041. The Broncos players wore black armbands in memory of the club's co-founder Paul "Porky" Morgan who had died from a heart attack the previous day.
First half
The first try of the match was scored by the Broncos from close to the Saints' try-line when Shaun Berrigan, playing at
five-eighth
Five-eighth or Stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional a ...
, burrowed over from dummy half. St. Helens answered with a try from their loose forward, Paul Sculthorpe. This was followed by the Brisbane lock, Phillip Lee scoring at the other end. The half-time score was 6 - 12 in favour of the Broncos.
Second half
Brisbane were again the first to score in the second half through Brad Meyers, giving the visitors a good lead. But a converted try from Saints' scrum-half, Sean Long put the home team back in it at 18 - 12. The scores were then levelled when St. Helens centre, Paul Newlove ran around Wendell Sailor and dashed downfield, passing back inside to his captain, Chris Joynt to score. In the final minutes of the match the Saints managed to wear down the clock without conceding any points as try-scorers Sculthorpe and Long kicked a drop/field goal each, leaving the score at the final siren at 20 - 18.