Wigan Warriors chief exec calls World Club Challenge format 'madness'
Wigan Warriors chief executive Kris Radilinski has called the current format preventing the club from defending the World Club Challenge as “madness”. Currently, it is left for the winners of the NRL and Super League to arrange the annual showdown.
And Wigan, who won the WCC last year, were denied the chance to defend their title this year when Penrith - who they beat 16-12 last season - chose not to take part, citing player welfare concerns. But Radilinski wants the fixture set in stone each year before the respective Grand Finals.
He said: “I’d love it to be a set formula because the reality is in its current format, it just falls on me to phone my counterpart over there and say, ‘Do you fancy a game?’ which is madness. If you want to see a global game, if we want to see games like Wigan-Penrith, which was a great spectacle, then we need to make time to make it work.”
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The 2025 fixture would have been a repeat of last year which five-time winners Wigan hosted in front of a capacity crowd of more than 24,000. Radilinski said: “It was brilliant for us last year. We held an amazing event here. The team beat Penrith which’ll be remembered for many years.”
The World Club Challenge was one of four trophies Wigan won in 2024 which also included the Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and Super League Grand Final. And the Warriors’ cleansweep was recognised when they won the 2024 BBC Personality Team of the Year award last month - just as the club did in 1994 when they won all four trophies.
Except in 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Club Challenge has been an annual fixture since the turn of the millennium. Radilinski said: “Within a week of winning the Grand Final, Penrith wrote to me and said, ‘Yeah, they’re not gonna do it.’
“And there is no format between Super League and the NRL. It’s just an agreement, and it was a really great note from Penrith. They just said, ‘Unfortunately, we’re thinking about our player welfare this year and we’re doing a lot of travelling and we’re not gonna make the trip.’
“And they were already going to Las Vegas at this point, so it never got off the ground.” Last year, two games from the opening round of the NRL were played in Las Vegas. Penrith are one of the four teams representing the league there this year.
Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves will make history when they play a Super League fixture in Las Vegas on March 1. This will be followed by two NRL games on the same day, the second featuring Penrith, either side of a women’s international game.
The Super League champions’ coach Matt Peet said: “I think it’s going to be exciting for the club, for the competition, for any rugby league fans whether they watch it on TV or get the privilege to go over to Las Vegas. I’m just happy that Wigan are a part of it as are another great club in Warrington Wolves.
“And I think it’s strong for the British game that we get to go and make an impact on what last year was a landmark event for the game.” The fixture takes place in Round 3 of the Super League which Wigan won for the second successive season last term for the first time.
On defending the trophy, Peet added: “I know that we can do it, but I also know that we’ve got to get a lot right to do it. I never get carried away with a good preseason. I think it’s the minimum standard and we’re on track.”
