1997 World Club Championship | |
---|---|
Trophy won by Brisbane Broncos | |
Duration | 6 June – 17 October 1997 |
Teams | 22 |
Matches played | 68 |
Average attendance | 7,989 |
Attendance | 543,258 |
Champions | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
Top point-scorer(s) | ![]() |
Top try-scorer(s) | ![]() |
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]
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]
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.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 270 | 52 | +218 | 12 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
2 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 268 | 82 | +186 | 12 | |
3 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 230 | 54 | +176 | 12 | |
4 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 256 | 120 | +136 | 12 | |
5 | ![]() | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 302 | 108 | +194 | 10 | |
6 | ![]() | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 218 | 121 | +97 | 8 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 226 | 50 | +176 | 12 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
2 | ![]() | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 228 | 92 | +136 | 10 | |
3 | ![]() | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 170 | 68 | +102 | 8 | |
4 | ![]() | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 148 | 104 | +44 | 8 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 89 | 212 | −123 | 4 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
2 | ![]() | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 136 | 238 | −102 | 2 | |
3 | ![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 82 | 228 | −146 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 96 | 270 | −174 | 0 | Advance to Elimination final |
5 | ![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 78 | 256 | −178 | 0 | |
6 | ![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 56 | 340 | −284 | 0 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 90 | −42 | 2 | Advance to Elimination final |
2 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 138 | −44 | 2 | |
3 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 130 | −78 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 130 | −86 | 2 | |
5 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 168 | −114 | 2 | |
6 | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 52 | 116 | −64 | 0 |
Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
![]() | 42 – 14 | ![]() | Friday 20 June, 8:00 pm | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Graham Annesley | 13,852 |
![]() | 4 – 40 | ![]() | Friday 20 June, 7:30 pm | Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield | Russell Smith | 2,350 |
![]() | 10 – 30 | ![]() | Friday 20 June, 7:30 pm | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | Stuart Cummings | 10,756 |
![]() | 44 – 8 | ![]() | Saturday 21 June, 7:30 pm | Stockland Stadium, Townsville | Brian Grant | 15,508 |
![]() | 24 – 0 | ![]() | Saturday 21 June, 7:00 pm | Charlety Stadium, Paris | David Campbell | 3,500 |
![]() | 76 – 0 | ![]() | Sunday 22 June, 2:30 pm | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Tim Mander | 11,358 |
![]() | 56 – 22 | ![]() | Sunday 22 June, 2:30 pm | Bruce Stadium, Canberra | Steve Clark | 9,098 |
![]() | 30 – 50 | ![]() | Sunday 22 June, 6:35 pm | Knowsley Road, St Helens | John Connolly | 6,671 |
![]() | 34 – 18 | ![]() | Monday 23 June, 7:30 pm | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | Bill Harrigan | 7,272 |
![]() | 28 – 56 | ![]() | Monday 23 June, 7:45 pm | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | Steve Presley | 4,428 |
Byes: ![]() ![]() | ||||||
References: RLP [6] |
Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
![]() | 48 – 12 | ![]() | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Brian Grant | 5,642 |
![]() | 20 – 16 | ![]() | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Boundary Park, Oldham | Robert Connolly | 2,961 |
![]() | 22 – 14 | ![]() | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds | Russell Smith | 11,269 |
![]() | 48 – 12 | ![]() | Saturday 19 July, 7:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Steve Clark | 7,429 |
![]() | 76 – 0 | ![]() | Sunday 20 July, 2:30 pm | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Bill Harrigan | 12,500 |
![]() | 26 – 8 | ![]() | Sunday 20 July, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Tim Mander | 3,379 |
![]() | 22 – 40 | ![]() | Sunday 20 July, 3:00 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Steve Presley | 3,300 |
![]() | 4 – 30 | ![]() | Sunday 20 July, 6:35 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Stuart Cummings | 13,476 |
![]() | 28 – 12 | ![]() | Monday 21 July, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Graham Annesley | 7,721 |
![]() | 38 – 18 | ![]() | Monday 21 July, 7:30 pm | The Stoop, London | John Connolly | 7,819 |
Byes: ![]() ![]() | ||||||
References: RLP [6] |
Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
![]() | 70 – 6 | ![]() | Friday 25 July, 7:30 pm | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Steve Clark | 18,354 |
![]() | 2 – 18 | ![]() | Friday 25 July, 7:30 pm | Boundary Park, Oldham | John Connolly | 3,315 |
![]() | 44 – 0 | ![]() | Saturday 26 July, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Tim Mander | 6,112 |
![]() | 32 – 0 | ![]() | Sunday 27 July, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Graham Annesley | 2,210 |
![]() | 24 – 14 | ![]() | Sunday 27 July, 2:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Brian Grant | 12,500 |
![]() | 12 – 42 | ![]() | Sunday 27 July, 3:00 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Robert Connolly | 3,620 |
![]() | 14 – 24 | ![]() | Sunday 27 July, 3:00 pm | The Willows, Salford | Steve Presley | 7,448 |
![]() | 16 – 34 | ![]() | Sunday 27 July, 6:35 pm | The Stoop, London | Stuart Cummings | 9,846 |
![]() | 54 – 14 | ![]() | Monday 28 July, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Bill Harrigan | 5,336 |
![]() | 31 – 24 | ![]() | Monday 28 July, 7:45 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Russell Smith | 10,280 |
Byes: ![]() ![]() | ||||||
References: RLP [6] |
Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
![]() | 18 – 8 | ![]() | Friday 1 August, 6:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Tim Mander | 5,690 |
![]() | 22 – 44 | ![]() | Friday 1 August, 7:30 pm | The Stoop, London | John Connolly | 6,923 |
![]() | 40 – 12 | ![]() | Saturday 2 August, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Brian Grant | 8,272 |
![]() | 16 – 4 | ![]() | Sunday 3 August, 2:30 pm | Lancaster Park, Christchurch | Graham Annesley | 5,500 |
![]() | 58 – 12 | ![]() | Sunday 3 August, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Steve Clark | 1,965 |
![]() | 12 – 50 | ![]() | Sunday 3 August, 3:00 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Steve Presley | 12,504 |
![]() | 14 – 12 | ![]() | Sunday 3 August, 6:35 pm | The Willows, Salford | Stuart Cummings | 6,995 |
![]() | 14 – 48 | ![]() | Sunday 3 August, 8:00 pm | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds | Russell Smith | 12,224 |
![]() | 32 – 26 | ![]() | Monday 4 August, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Bill Harrigan | 5,303 |
![]() | 10 – 54 | ![]() | Monday 4 August, 7:45 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Robert Connolly | 3,255 |
Byes: ![]() ![]() | ||||||
References: RLP [6] |
Elimination qualifier | Quarter-finals | Semi finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | 66 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 42 | ![]() | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | 4 | ![]() | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 62 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 40 |
Wednesday, 13 August | St. Helens ![]() | 42 – 4 | ![]() | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | |
7:45 pm | Attendance: 3,641 Referee: Russell Smith |
Friday, 3 October | Auckland Warriors ![]() | 62 – 14 | ![]() | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | |
Attendance: 12,063 Referee: Bill Harrigan |
Friday, 3 October | Wigan Warriors ![]() | 18 – 22 | ![]() | Central Park, Wigan | |
Attendance: 9,553 Referee: Russell Smith |
Saturday, 4 October | Brisbane Broncos ![]() | 66 – 12 | ![]() | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | |
Attendance: 6,438 Referee: Steve Clark |
Saturday, 4 October | London Broncos ![]() | 16 – 40 | ![]() | The Stoop, London | |
Attendance: 6,239 Referee: Stuart Cummings |
Friday, 10 October | Brisbane Broncos ![]() | 22 – 16 | ![]() | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | |
19:30 AEST (UTC+10) | Tries: Walker ![]() Tallis ![]() Walters ![]() Goals: Walker ![]() | 1st: 10–10 2nd: 12–6 Report | Tries: Oudenryn ![]() Endacott ![]() Goals: Ridge ![]() | Attendance: 9,686 Referee: Graham Annesley |
Saturday, 11 October | Cronulla Sharks ![]() | 18 – 22 | ![]() | Shark Park, Sydney | |
19:30 AEST (UTC+10) | Tries: Ettingshausen ![]() Richardson ![]() Rogers ![]() Goals: Rogers ![]() | 1st: 12–12 2nd: 6–10 Report | Tries: Kimmorley ![]() Doherty ![]() Zisti ![]() Goals: K Iro ![]() Swain ![]() | Attendance: 5,214 Referee: Bill Harrigan |
1997 | World Club Championship final|||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Mount Smart Stadium hosted the match | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Date | 18 October 1997 | ||||||||||||
Stadium | Mount Smart Stadium | ||||||||||||
Location | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||
Referee | Graham Annesley ![]() | ||||||||||||
Attendance | 10,300 | ||||||||||||
Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
Commentators | |||||||||||||
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]
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Brisbane Broncos | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Hunter Mariners |
|
|
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.