Jump to content

1997 World Club Championship

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from 1997 World Club Challenge)

1997 World Club Championship
Trophy won by Brisbane Broncos
Duration6 June – 17 October 1997
Teams22
Matches played68
Average attendance7,989
Attendance543,258
Champions Brisbane Broncos (2nd title)
Runners-up Hunter Mariners
Top point-scorer(s) Ryan Girdler (118 points)
Top try-scorer(s) Steve Renouf (13)
← 1994
2000 →

The 1997 World Club Championship was an expansion of the World Club Challenge concept by Super League. The rugby competition was restructured to include all 22 clubs from the Australasian Super League and the Super League championships and was known as the Visa World Club Championship due to sponsorship. As it was contested over six rounds in two hemispheres, with A$1 million prize money (GBP 640,000), the competition was prohibitively expensive to stage, with suggestions that it cost A$6 million.[1] This coupled with the poor ratings and attendances that were achieved both in Australia and Europe reportedly resulted in a loss over A$5 million, and the World Club Challenge was not staged again for a number of years. No British teams progressed further than the quarter-finals, with two Australian teams reaching the final (played at the Ericsson Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand): the dominant Brisbane Broncos club and the ill-fated Hunter Mariners.[2]

Format

[edit]

The competition was held during the second season of the European Super League competition and the inaugural season of the Australasian Super League season. Both competitions paused their competitions for the first three rounds in June, and again for the second round of matches in July-August.

Teams in each competition were seeded into two pools to ensure that the leading teams would play each other.[3] The Australasian teams were split into a pool of six teams that contained the teams that had finished highly in the 1996 ARL season, and a pool of four teams that included the expansion Super League franchises Hunter Mariners and Adelaide Rams. The European Super League teams were split into two pools of six teams in order of the final positions of the clubs during the 1996 Super League season. Promoted club Salford Reds joined Pool B.

With only four teams in the Australasian Pool B, the six European teams had two bye weekends.

The competition saw five Australasian teams tour Europe for each set of three match weekends, with five European teams simultaneously touring Australasia.

Following the completion of the pool matches, the top three teams from both of the competitions Pool A progressed to the quarter finals, with the winner of the Australasian Pool B. The winner of the European Pool B faced the fourth-placed team from Pool A in an elimination qualifier for a place in the quarter finals.[4] The playoffs took place after the completion of the respective Super League competitions.

Credit card company Visa was announced as the competition sponsor just before the European launch of the championship at Huddersfield. The sponsorship was described as a "substantial investment to help offset the estimated £2 million operational costs."[5]

Pool stage tables

[edit]

The Australasian and European teams were each divided into two pools for the 1997 World Club Challenge. Each pool had six teams, with the exception of Australasia B, which had the two lowest placed Super League-aligned teams and the two newly formed teams: the Hunter Mariners and the Adelaide Rams. The finals series was contested between the top three teams in Australasia Pool A and Europe Pool A, and the top team from Australasia Pool B and Europe Pool B.

Australian Super League

[edit]
Pool A
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Brisbane Broncos 6 6 0 0 270 52 +218 12 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 Auckland Warriors 6 6 0 0 268 82 +186 12
3 Cronulla Sharks 6 6 0 0 230 54 +176 12
4 Penrith Panthers 6 6 0 0 256 120 +136 12
5 Canberra Raiders 6 5 0 1 302 108 +194 10
6 Canterbury Bulldogs 6 4 0 2 218 121 +97 8
Source: RLP
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Point difference; 3) Points scored.
Pool B
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Hunter Mariners 6 6 0 0 226 50 +176 12 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 North Queensland Cowboys 6 5 0 1 228 92 +136 10
3 Adelaide Rams 6 4 0 2 170 68 +102 8
4 Perth Reds 6 4 0 2 148 104 +44 8
Source: RLP
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Point difference; 3) Points scored.

Super League

[edit]
Pool A
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Wigan Warriors 6 2 0 4 89 212 −123 4 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 London Broncos 6 1 0 5 136 238 −102 2
3 Bradford Bulls 6 0 0 6 82 228 −146 0
4 St Helens 6 0 0 6 96 270 −174 0 Advance to Elimination final
5 Warrington Wolves 6 0 0 6 78 256 −178 0
6 Halifax Blue Sox 6 0 0 6 56 340 −284 0
Source: RLP
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Point difference; 3) Points scored.
Pool B
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Paris Saint-Germain 4 1 0 3 48 90 −42 2 Advance to Elimination final
2 Leeds Rhinos 4 1 0 3 94 138 −44 2
3 Oldham Bears 4 1 0 3 52 130 −78 2
4 Salford City Reds 4 1 0 3 44 130 −86 2
5 Sheffield Eagles 4 1 0 3 54 168 −114 2
6 Castleford Tigers 4 0 0 4 52 116 −64 0
Source: RLP
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Point difference; 3) Points scored.

Results

[edit]

Round 1

[edit]
June 6–9
Home Score Away Match information
Day & Time (local) Venue Referee Attendance
Brisbane Broncos 42 – 22 London Broncos Friday 6 June, 7:30 pm ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Bill Harrigan 18,193
St. Helens 14 – 42 Auckland Warriors Friday 6 June, 7:30 pm Knowsley Road, St. Helens Stuart Cummings 8,911
North Queensland Cowboys 42 – 20 Leeds Rhinos Saturday 7 June, 7:30 pm Stockland Stadium, Townsville Steve Clark 14,561
Adelaide Rams 50 – 8 Salford Reds Sunday 8 June, 2:00 pm Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Tim Mander 11,346
Canberra Raiders 70 – 6 Halifax Blue Sox Sunday 8 June, 2:30 pm Bruce Stadium, Canberra Brian Grant 7,780
Paris St-Germain 12 – 28 Hunter Mariners Sunday 8 June, 3:00 pm Charlety Stadium, Paris Steve Presley 3,500
Castleford Tigers 16 – 24 Perth Reds Sunday 8 June, 3:30 pm Wheldon Road, Castleford Robert Connolly 3,590
Warrington Wolves 12 – 40 Cronulla Sharks Sunday 8 June, 6:35 pm Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington Russell Smith 3,378
Canterbury Bulldogs 18 – 22 Wigan Warriors Monday 9 June, 7:30 pm Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Graham Annesley 10,680
Bradford Bulls 16 – 20 Penrith Panthers Monday 9 June, 7:45 pm Odsal Stadium, Bradford David Campbell 14,378
Byes: Sheffield Eagles, Oldham Bears
References: RLP [6]

Round 2

[edit]
June 13–16
Home Score Away Match information
Day & Time (local) Venue Referee Attendance
Adelaide Rams 34 – 8 Leeds Rhinos Friday 13 June, 8:00 pm Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Steve Clarke 14,630
Castleford Tigers 12 – 42 Hunter Mariners Friday 13 June, 7:30 pm Wheldon Road, Castleford Stuart Cummings 3,087
North Queensland Cowboys 54 – 16 Oldham Bears Saturday 14 June, 7:30 pm Stockland Stadium, Townsville Graham Annesley 12,631
Bradford Bulls 16 – 20 Auckland Warriors Saturday 14 June, 6:00 pm Odsal Stadium, Bradford Russell Smith 13,133
Canberra Raiders 66 – 20 London Broncos Sunday 15 June, 2:30 pm Bruce Stadium, Canberra Tim Mander 6,471
Canterbury Bulldogs 58 – 6 Halifax Blue Sox Sunday 15 June, 2:30 pm Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Brian Grant 5,034
Warrington Wolves 22 – 52 Penrith Panthers Sunday 15 June, 3:00 pm Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington Robert Connolly 3,850
Sheffield Eagles 26 – 22 Perth Reds Sunday 15 June, 6:35 pm Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield John Connolly 2,065
Brisbane Broncos 34 – 0 Wigan Warriors Monday 16 June, 7:30 pm ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Bill Harrigan 14,833
St Helens 8 – 48 Cronulla Sharks Monday 16 June, 7:45 pm Knowsley Road, St Helens David Campbell 8,039
Byes: Paris St-Germain, Salford Reds
References: RLP [6]

Round 3

[edit]
20 June 1997
Adelaide Rams 42 – 14 Oldham Bears Adelaide Rams, Adelaide Attendance: 13,852
Bradford Bulls 10 – 30 Cronulla Sharks Odsal Stadium, Bradford Attendance: 10,756
21 June 1997
North Queensland Cowboys 44 – 8 Salford City Reds Stockland Stadium, Townsville Attendance: 15,508
Paris St-Germain 24 – 0 Perth Reds Charlety Stadium, Paris Attendance: 2,500
22 June 1997
Brisbane Broncos 76 – 0 Halifax Blue Sox ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 11,358
Canberra Raiders 56 – 22 Wigan Warriors Bruce Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 9,098
Canterbury Bulldogs 34 – 18 London Broncos Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Attendance: 4,000
23 June 1997
Warrington Wolves 28 – 56 Auckland Warriors Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington Attendance: 4,428
Sheffield Eagles 4 – 40 Hunter Mariners Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield Attendance: 2,500

Round 4

[edit]
18 July 1997
Penrith Panthers 48 – 12 Warrington Wolves Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith Attendance: 5,642
Leeds Rhinos 22 – 14 Adelaide Rams Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds Attendance: 11,269
Oldham Bears 20 – 16 North Queensland Cowboys Boundary Park, Oldham Attendance: 2,961
19 July 1997
Perth Reds 48 – 12 Sheffield Eagles WACA Ground, Perth Attendance: 7,429
20 July 1997
Auckland Warriors 64 – 14 Bradford Bulls Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 13,000
Hunter Mariners 26 – 8 Castleford Tigers Topper Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 3,379
Halifax Blue Sox 22 – 40 Canterbury Bulldogs Thrum Hall, Halifax Attendance: 3,500
Wigan Warriors 4 – 30 Brisbane Broncos Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 12,816
21 July 1997
Cronulla Sharks 28 – 12 St. Helens Shark Park, Sydney Attendance: 7,751
London Broncos 38 – 18 Canberra Raiders The Stoop, London Attendance: 7,819

Round 5

[edit]
25 July 1997
Auckland Warriors 70 – 6 St. Helens Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 8,500
Oldham Bears 2 – 18 Adelaide Rams Boundary Park, Oldham Attendance: 3,315
26 July 1997
Cronulla Sharks 44 – 0 Warrington Wolves Shark Park, Sydney Attendance: 6,112
27 July 1997
Hunter Mariners 32 – 0 Paris St-Germain Topper Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 2,210
Perth Reds 24 – 14 Castleford Tigers WACA Ground, Perth Attendance: 6,114
London Broncos 16 – 34 Brisbane Broncos The Stoop, London Attendance: 9,846
Salford City Reds 14 – 24 North Queensland Cowboys The Willows, Salford Attendance: 7,448
Halifax Blue Sox 12 – 42 Canberra Raiders Thrum Hall, Halifax Attendance: 3,620
28 July 1997
Penrith Panthers 54 – 14 Bradford Bulls Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith Attendance: 5,332
Wigan Warriors 31 – 24 Canterbury Bulldogs Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 10,280

Round 6

[edit]
1 August 1997
Perth Reds 18 – 8 Paris St-Germain WACA Ground, Perth Attendance: 5,160
London Broncos 22 – 44 Canterbury Bulldogs The Stoop, London Attendance: 6,923
2 August 1997
Cronulla Sharks 40 – 12 Bradford Bulls Shark Park, Sydney Attendance: 8,272
3 August 1997
Auckland Warriors 16 – 4 Warrington Wolves Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 6,500
Hunter Mariners 58 – 12 Sheffield Eagles Topper Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 1,965
Leeds Rhinos 14 – 48 North Queensland Cowboys Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds Attendance: 12,224
Salford City Reds 14 – 12 Adelaide Rams The Willows, Salford Attendance: 6,995
Wigan Warriors 10 – 50 Canberra Raiders Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 12,504
4 August 1997
Penrith Panthers 32 – 26 St. Helens Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith Attendance: 5,000
Halifax Blue Sox 10 – 54 Brisbane Broncos Thrum Hall, Halifax Attendance: 3,255

Playoffs

[edit]

Bracket

[edit]
Elimination qualifier Quarter-finals Semi finals Final
Brisbane Broncos 66
St. Helens 42 St. Helens 12
Paris St-Germain 4 Brisbane Broncos 22
Auckland Warriors 16
Auckland Warriors 62
Bradford Bulls 14
Brisbane Broncos 36
Hunter Mariners 12
Wigan Warriors 18
Hunter Mariners 22
Cronulla Sharks 18
Hunter Mariners 22
London Broncos 16
Cronulla Sharks 40

Elimination qualifer

[edit]
20 August 1997
St. Helens 42 – 4 Paris St-Germain Knowsley Road, St. Helens Attendance: 3,641

Quarter-finals

[edit]
3 October 1997
Auckland Warriors 62 – 14 Bradford Bulls Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 12,063
Wigan Warriors 18 – 22 Hunter Mariners Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 9,553
4 October 1997
Brisbane Broncos 66 – 12 St. Helens ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 6,438
6 October 1997
London Broncos 16 – 40 Cronulla Sharks The Stoop, London Attendance: 6,239

Semi-finals

[edit]
10 October 1997
Brisbane Broncos 22 – 16 Auckland Warriors ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 9,686
11 October 1997
Cronulla Sharks 18 – 22 Hunter Mariners Shark Park, Sydney Attendance: 5,214

Final

[edit]
1997 (1997) World Club Championship final  ()
Mount Smart Stadium hosted the match
Brisbane Broncos Hunter Mariners
(SL Australia) (SL Australia)
36 12
12 Total
BRI 2610 36
HUN 48 12
Date18 October 1997
StadiumMount Smart Stadium
LocationAuckland, New Zealand
RefereeGraham Annesley Australia
Attendance10,300
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators
← 1994
2000 →

In their only year of existence, this would be the only final that the Hunter Mariners would appear in.

Three tries in 12 minutes from Brisbane Broncos centre Darren Smith put the Broncos in a strong position in the first half to lead 26–0 inside 30 minutes, with the Hunter Mariners only score a try to Nick Zisti just before the break.[7]

After the interval, the Mariners came close to scoring, but were denied twice by the video referee.[7] John Carlaw and Zisti would score tries to reduce the margin to 14 points,[8][9] but two late tries to the Broncos through Wendell Sailor and Steve Renouf gave the Brisbane side a dominant victory.[7]

The Broncos collected A$1 million for winning the competition, with the Mariners collecting A$500,000 which the club split 50-50 with the players.[10]

Teams

[edit]
Brisbane Broncos
Hunter Mariners
FB 1 Darren Lockyer
RW 18 Michael De Vere
RC 13 Darren Smith
LC 4 Steve Renouf
LW 5 Wendell Sailor
FE 6 Kevin Walters
HB 7 Allan Langer (c)
PR 21 Shane Webcke
HK 9 John Plath
PR 23 Andrew Gee
SR 11 Gorden Tallis
SR 10 Brad Thorn
LK 12 Peter Ryan
Substitutions:
IC 14 Ben Walker
IC 2 Michael Hancock
IC 15 Tonie Carroll
IC 33 Phillip Lee
Coach:
Australia Wayne Bennett
FB 1 Robbie Ross
RW 3 Nick Zisti
LC 6 Brad Godden
RC 4 Kevin Iro
LW 5 John Carlaw
FE 21 Scott Hill
HB 20 Brett Kimmorley
PR 31 Anthony Brann
HK 9 Robbie McCormack (c)
PR 14 Troy Stone
SR 16 Darrien Doherty
SR 12 Paul Marquet
LK 55 Tyran Smith
Substitutions:
IC 2 Keith Beauchamp
IC 10 Tim Maddison
IC 11 Tony Iro
IC 18 Richard Swain
Coach:
Australia Graham Murray

Match details

[edit]
1997 World Club Challenge Final
Friday, 17 October
19:30 NZST (UTC+12)
Brisbane Broncos 36 – 12 Hunter Mariners
Tries: 7
D Smith rugby ball 18', 24', 28'
Walters rugby ball 4'
Plath rugby ball 12'
Sailor rugby ball 74'
Renouf rugby ball 79'
Goals: 4
De Vere rugby goalposts icon 5', 13', 29' (3/5)
Walker rugby goalposts icon 75' (1/2)
 1st: 26–4
2nd: 10–8
[11]
 Tries: 3
Zisti rugby ball 35', 64'
Carlaw rugby ball 53'
Goals: 0
K Iro (0/2)
Swain (0/1)
Ericsson Stadium, Auckland
Attendance: 10,300
Referee: Graham Annesley Australia

Aftermath

[edit]

The dominance of the Australasian sides in the competition led to the Rugby Football League appointing Joe Lydon to head a commission to provide an explanation.[12] The general conclusion was that the Australian sides were no more skillful than the European teams, the main difference as it had been in international football since the late 1970s, was fitness, something that they were working on by the time of the season ending Super League Test series between the Super League Australians and the Great Britain Lions in England in November.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Mascord, Steve (17 October 1997). "Gold Coast hunts the Mariners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited. p. 45.
  2. ^ Hadfield, Dave (16 October 1997). "The short but amazing life of Hunter Mariners". The Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  3. ^ Wilson, Andy (1 June 1997). "Ambitious project means global dawning". The Observer. London, United Kingdom. p. 52.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (6 June 1997). "Show time in the world acid test". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. B7.
  5. ^ "Visa invests in world club championship". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 5 June 1997. p. 47.
  6. ^ a b "World Club Championship - Fixtures". Sunday Mirror. London, United Kingdom. 1 June 1997. p. 69.
  7. ^ a b c "Rugby League: World Club C'ship: Broncos on top of the world Brisbane Broncos 36 Hunter Mariners 12". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. 18 October 1997. p. 10:1.
  8. ^ Mascord, Steve (18 October 1997). "In-limbo Mariners fall gamely to Broncos". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited. p. 64.
  9. ^ Hadfield, Dave (18 October 1997). "Rugby League: World Club Championship Final - Broncos' early burst leaves Mariners marooned". The Independent. London, United Kingdom. p. 23.
  10. ^ Drzyzga, Ben (18 October 1997). "Broncos burst Mariners' bubble". Newcastle Herald. Newcastle, New South Wales: Newcastle Newspapers Pty Limited. p. 22.
  11. ^ 1997 WCC Final - Brisbane vs Hunter
  12. ^ Robinson, John (1997). Super League Official Annual 1998. World International. p. 42. ISBN 0-7498-3389-0.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1997_World_Club_Championship&oldid=1240221665"