# 1997 World Club Championship

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. 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.

## Format

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. 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. 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."

## Pool stage tables

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
#### 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 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Cronulla Sharks | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 230 | 54 | +176 | 12 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 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 | |

#### 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 | |

### Super League
#### 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 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 82 | 228 | −146 | 0 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 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 | |

#### 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 | |

## Results
### Round 1
#### June 6–9

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | 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 |||||||

### Round 2
#### June 13–16

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | 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 |||||||

### Round 3
#### June 20–23

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Adelaide Rams | 42 – 14 | Oldham Bears | Friday 20 June, 8:00 pm | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Graham Annesley | 13,852 |
| Sheffield Eagles | 4 – 40 | Hunter Mariners | Friday 20 June, 7:30 pm | Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield | Russell Smith | 2,350 |
| Bradford Bulls | 10 – 30 | Cronulla Sharks | Friday 20 June, 7:30 pm | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | Stuart Cummings | 10,756 |
| North Queensland Cowboys | 44 – 8 | Salford Reds | Saturday 21 June, 7:30 pm | Stockland Stadium, Townsville | Brian Grant | 15,508 |
| Paris St-Germain | 24 – 0 | Perth Reds | Saturday 21 June, 7:00 pm | Charlety Stadium, Paris | David Campbell | 3,500 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 76 – 0 | Halifax Blue Sox | Sunday 22 June, 2:30 pm | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Tim Mander | 11,358 |
| Canberra Raiders | 56 – 22 | Wigan Warriors | Sunday 22 June, 2:30 pm | Bruce Stadium, Canberra | Steve Clark | 9,098 |
| St Helens | 30 – 50 | Penrith Panthers | Sunday 22 June, 6:35 pm | Knowsley Road, St Helens | John Connolly | 6,671 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 34 – 18 | London Broncos | Monday 23 June, 7:30 pm | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | Bill Harrigan | 7,272 |
| Warrington Wolves | 28 – 56 | Auckland Warriors | Monday 23 June, 7:45 pm | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | Steve Presley | 4,428 |
| Byes: Castleford Tigers, Leeds Rhinos |||||||
| References: RLP |||||||

### Round 4
#### July 18–21

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Penrith Panthers | 48 – 12 | Warrington Wolves | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Brian Grant | 5,642 |
| Oldham Bears | 20 – 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Boundary Park, Oldham | Robert Connolly | 2,961 |
| Leeds Rhinos | 22 – 14 | Adelaide Rams | Friday 18 July, 7:30 pm | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds | Russell Smith | 11,269 |
| Perth Reds | 48 – 12 | Sheffield Eagles | Saturday 19 July, 7:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Steve Clark | 7,429 |
| Auckland Warriors | 76 – 0 | Bradford Bulls | Sunday 20 July, 2:30 pm | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Bill Harrigan | 12,500 |
| Hunter Mariners | 26 – 8 | Castleford Tigers | Sunday 20 July, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Tim Mander | 3,379 |
| Halifax Blue Sox | 22 – 40 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Sunday 20 July, 3:00 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Steve Presley | 3,300 |
| Wigan Warriors | 4 – 30 | Brisbane Broncos | Sunday 20 July, 6:35 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Stuart Cummings | 13,476 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 28 – 12 | St. Helens | Monday 21 July, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Graham Annesley | 7,721 |
| London Broncos | 38 – 18 | Canberra Raiders | Monday 21 July, 7:30 pm | The Stoop, London | John Connolly | 7,819 |
| Byes: Paris St-Germain, Salford Reds |||||||
| References: RLP |||||||

### Round 5
#### July 25–28

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Auckland Warriors | 70 – 6 | St. Helens | Friday 25 July, 7:30 pm | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Steve Clark | 18,354 |
| Oldham Bears | 2 – 18 | Adelaide Rams | Friday 25 July, 7:30 pm | Boundary Park, Oldham | John Connolly | 3,315 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 44 – 0 | Warrington Wolves | Saturday 26 July, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Tim Mander | 6,112 |
| Hunter Mariners | 32 – 0 | Paris St-Germain | Sunday 27 July, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Graham Annesley | 2,210 |
| Perth Reds | 24 – 14 | Castleford Tigers | Sunday 27 July, 2:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Brian Grant | 12,500 |
| Halifax Blue Sox | 12 – 42 | Canberra Raiders | Sunday 27 July, 3:00 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Robert Connolly | 3,620 |
| Salford City Reds | 14 – 24 | North Queensland Cowboys | Sunday 27 July, 3:00 pm | The Willows, Salford | Steve Presley | 7,448 |
| London Broncos | 16 – 34 | Brisbane Broncos | Sunday 27 July, 6:35 pm | The Stoop, London | Stuart Cummings | 9,846 |
| Penrith Panthers | 54 – 14 | Bradford Bulls | Monday 28 July, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Bill Harrigan | 5,336 |
| Wigan Warriors | 31 – 24 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Monday 28 July, 7:45 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Russell Smith | 10,280 |
| Byes: Leeds Rhinos, Sheffield Eagles |||||||
| References: RLP |||||||

### Round 6
#### August 1–4

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Day & Time (local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Perth Reds | 18 – 8 | Paris St-Germain | Friday 1 August, 6:30 pm | WACA Ground, Perth | Tim Mander | 5,690 |
| London Broncos | 22 – 44 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Friday 1 August, 7:30 pm | The Stoop, London | John Connolly | 6,923 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 40 – 12 | Bradford Bulls | Saturday 2 August, 7:30 pm | Shark Park, Sydney | Brian Grant | 8,272 |
| Auckland Warriors | 16 – 4 | Warrington Wolves | Sunday 3 August, 2:30 pm | Lancaster Park, Christchurch | Graham Annesley | 5,500 |
| Hunter Mariners | 58 – 12 | Castleford Tigers | Sunday 3 August, 2:30 pm | Topper Stadium, Newcastle | Steve Clark | 1,965 |
| Wigan Warriors | 12 – 50 | Canberra Raiders | Sunday 3 August, 3:00 pm | Central Park, Wigan | Steve Presley | 12,504 |
| Salford City Reds | 14 – 12 | Adelaide Rams | Sunday 3 August, 6:35 pm | The Willows, Salford | Stuart Cummings | 6,995 |
| Leeds Rhinos | 14 – 48 | North Queensland Cowboys | Sunday 3 August, 8:00 pm | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds | Russell Smith | 12,224 |
| Penrith Panthers | 32 – 26 | St. Helens | Monday 4 August, 7:30 pm | Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith | Bill Harrigan | 5,303 |
| Halifax Blue Sox | 10 – 54 | Brisbane Broncos | Monday 4 August, 7:45 pm | Thrum Hall, Halifax | Robert Connolly | 3,255 |
| Byes: Castleford Tigers, Oldham Bears |||||||
| References: RLP |||||||

## Playoffs
### Bracket

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

### Semi-finals
## Final

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

### Teams

| 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: ||
| 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: ||
| Graham Murray ||

### Match details

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

## Aftermath

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. 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.