Match Details
| Brisbane Broncos | Positions | Wigan |
|---|---|---|
| Willie Carne | 1. FB | Gary Connolly |
| Wendell Sailor | 2. WG | Jason Robinson |
| Steve Renouf | 3. CE | Sam Panapa |
| Chris Johns | 4. CE | Barrie Jon-Mather |
| Michael Hancock | 5. WG | Martin Offiah |
| Kevin Walters | 6. FE | Frano Botica |
| Allan Langer (c) | 7. HB | Shaun Edwards (c) |
| Glenn Lazarus | 8. PR | Neil Cowie |
| Kerrod Walters | 9. HK | Martin Dermott |
| Andrew Gee | 10. PR | Billy McGinty |
| Mark Hohn | 11. SR | Denis Betts |
| Alan Cann | 12. SR | Andy Farrell |
| Julian O'Neill | 13. LF | Phil Clarke |
| John Plath | 14. Bench | Va'aiga Tuigamala |
| Peter Ryan | 15. Bench | Martin Hall |
| Brett Galea | 16. Bench | Mick Cassidy |
| Chris McKenna | 17. Bench | Paul Atcheson |
| Wayne Bennett | Coach | Graeme West |
The match was played at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium on 1 June in the middle of the 1994 NSWRL season. A crowd of 54,220 (which remains a record for a World Club Challenge match today) turned out for the game which was refereed by Greg McCallum. Wigan's chances didn't look good up against a star-studded Broncos side since both of their first choice test props, Kelvin Skerrett (broken jaw) and Andy Platt had been ruled out injured. In addition their coach, John Dorahy, had been sacked just weeks before so they went into the match under caretaker coach Graeme West.
Wigan opened the scoring in the seventh minute, when Dennis Betts pounced on a high ball from Shaun Edwards. The British champions added to this with another try in the sixteenth minute from Barrie Jon-Mather, bringing the unlikely score of 12 nil in favour of the visitors. In the twenty-seventh minute, Wendell Sailor opened the scoring for Brisbane when he beat Martin Offiah on the wing to put the ball down in the corner. The failed conversion meant a half-time lead for Wigan of 12 - 4.
Just three minutes into the second half a defining moment in the game took place when Michael Hancock knocked on and Jason Robinson picked up the ball and sped away, beating Sailor to score Wigan's third try. Frano Botica made it three from three with the boot when he kicked the extras, bringing the score to 18 - 4. Brisbane staged a comeback though, with Hancock making amends for his knock on with a try at the forty-six-minute mark and Julian O'Neill getting a try on fifty-nine minutes. Wigan's lead was brought back to four points, but their defence held the Broncos out for the remainder of the game. A sixty-sixth minute penalty by Botica meant a perfect night with the boot for him and a final score of 14 - 20.
| 14 Brisbane | 20 Wigan | |
| 3 Tries: |
3 Tries: |
|
| 1 Goal: |
4 Goals: |
Wigan's captain Shaun Edwards was named man-of-the-match and his team had reclaimed the WCC trophy, going home with the $400,000 of prize money. With the Super League war looming, this was to be the last WCC match until Super League's 1997 season, and the last time the British and Australian champions faced off until the year 2000.
Read more about this topic: 1994 World Club Challenge
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