1992 World Club Challenge

1992 (1992) World Club Challenge  ()
Central Park hosted the match
Wigan Brisbane Broncos (RFL) (NSWRL) 8 22
1 2 Total WIG 2 6 8 BRI 10 12 22
Date	30 October 1992
Stadium	Central Park
Location	Wigan, England
Terry Matterson
Referee	Dennis Hale
Attendance	17,764
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	Nine Network (on delay) Sky Sports
Commentators	Eddie Hemmings Mike Stephenson Peter Sterling
World Club Challenge ← 1991 1994 →

The 1992 World Club Challenge match was contested by the 1991–92 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan and the 1992 NSWRL season's premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.^[1] The match took place on Friday night, 30 October in England, during the 1992–93 Rugby Football League season. It was also played less than a week after the 1992 Rugby League World Cup final (from which many players on both sides were backing up). A crowd of 17,764 turned out at Central Park, Wigan for the match which was refereed by New Zealand's Dennis Hale, the same referee as for the World Cup final one week earlier.^[2]

The game was broadcast throughout Great Britain by Sky Sports and was shown on delay in Australia by the Nine Network. Commentary was provided by Sky's regular rugby league commentary team of Eddie Hemmings and former Great Britain hooker Mike Stephenson along with Nine's former Australian test halfback Peter Sterling.

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Wigan

Brisbane Broncos

FB 1 Andre Stoop RW 2 Jason Robinson CE 3 Dean Bell CE 4 Andrew Farrar LW 5 Martin Offiah SO 6 Frano Botica SH 7 Shaun Edwards (c) PR 8 Kelvin Skerrett HK 9 Martin Dermott PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Billy McGinty LF 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 14 Sam Panapa IC 15 Ian Lucas IC 16 Martin Crompton IC 17 Neil Cowie Coach: John Monie

FB 1 Julian O'Neill LW 2 Michael Hancock CE 3 Steve Renouf CE 4 Chris Johns RW 5 Willie Carne FE 6 Kevin Walters HB 7 Allan Langer (c) PR 8 Glenn Lazarus HK 9 Kerrod Walters PR 10 Andrew Gee SR 11 Trevor Gillmeister SR 12 Mark Hohn LK 13 Terry Matterson Substitutions: IC 14 John Plath IC 15 Tony Currie IC 16 Brett Plowman IC 17 Peter Ryan Coach: Wayne Bennett

Friday 30 October

Wigan	8 – 22	Brisbane Broncos
Tries: Shaun Edwards Goals: Frano Botica (2)	[3]	Tries: Michael Hancock (2) Julian O'Neill Kerrod Walters Goals: Terry Matterson (3)

Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 17,764 Referee: Dennis Hale Player of the Match: Terry Matterson

Brisbane's Alan Cann missed the match due to injury.^[4]

Early in the match a chaotic all-in brawl erupted, with Brisbane's Andrew Gee seen as the instigator. Wigan later opened the scoring by kicking a penalty given for an obstruction by Kerrod Walters close to the Broncos' try-line. However a knock-on later by Wigan in their in-goal area gave Brisbane a scrum feed in an attacking position and Julian O'Neill capitalised, fending off one defender and avoiding another in his run for the line to score the first try of the match which was then converted by Terry Matterson. Another try, scored by Kerrod Walters as a result of good support play from the Broncos, brought the score to 2-10 at half time.

Early in the second half another all-in brawl started, Andrew Gee again involved in the initial flareup. The Broncos scored first in the second half with Steve Renouf finding Michael Hancock out wide close to the Wigan try-line. However this was followed by a miraculous try from the home team. Around the halfway line, the Wigan hooker, Martin Dermott, chipped the ball over the top of the Broncos defenders and Shaun Edwards ran through to field it. Without missing a beat Edwards then sent a grubbing kick down past a complacent Julian O'Neill at fullback and won the race for it, with Wigan's goal-kicker Frano Botica adding the extra two. Later in the game Renouf again combined with Hancock out wide, throwing a looping pass over the Wigan defence to send the Broncos' number two over once more. The successful conversion attempt by Matterson, who was named man-of-the-match, left the final score at 22-8.^[5]

The Brisbane Broncos' victory saw the first time that Australian premiers had won the World Club Challenge on British soil. It was also only the second time that an Australian team had won at all, the last time being in 1976, in the first ever match of its kind.

• 1992 Brisbane Broncos season

• 1992 World Club Challenge at superleague.co.uk
• 1992 World Club Challenge at rugbyleagueproject.com

53°33′02″N 2°37′33″W / 53.550417°N 2.625833°W / 53.550417; -2.625833 (Central Park (Wigan))