It should be a cracking match this Saturday when Wigan tackle the Roosters at Allianz Stadium. But in many ways, the tables have been turned from usual World Cup Challenge matches, which has traditionally favoured the UK teams.
Previously, the English sides have enjoyed two big advantages over their Aussie counterparts.
First, because of the timing of the match, they generally get to play the game with a pretty settled squad, whereas the NRL sides have typically lost a few key players over the preceding off-season.
And usually the World Cup Challenge match is played in England, which means long travel and time zone issues for the visiting team.
This year, things are different.
Wigan have lost a number of key players, including the mercurial Sam Tomkins, who has been such a vital weapon in their sustained success over the past few seasons. And of course, they’ve journeyed Down Under this time, via a short stop over in New Zealand where they had a tough workout against a young Warriors squad.
The Roosters have arguably the best playing roster in the world.
To his credit, Smithy assembled a terrific group of players during his time at the club, which Trent Robinson inherited and then added wisely to. The re-entry of Sonny Bill back into rugby league was just the icing on the cake.
Wigan also have considerable playing talent. But what they do better than most under coach Shaun Wane is compete very hard for each other and have a lot of faith in the systems they use.
Wigan train very hard, they have that built-in confidence that is a feature of great sides, and in Matty Bowen, they have an wonderful replacement for Tomkins.
Under Robinson, the Roosters have adopted a very direct style of play.
They moved the ball around a lot when Smithy was in charge, and that worked well when Todd Carney was there as the big shifts and changes of angle really suited Carney’s style. The introduction of James Maloney, which complimented Mitchell Pearce, with the addition of the forwards playing a very direct power game, is what made the Roosters extremely hard to beat.
Wigan, on the other hand, are very much like an older version of the Melbourne Storm. Their front-rowers have a specific job to do; their ballplayers have a specific job to do. And they keep doing it consistently throughout the match.
They are also the best UK side on the ground in terms of wrestling and slowing down the ruck.
I’ve been in England for a number of years now, so I have to confess that my heart will be pulling for the Wigan boys. I’d like to see the players get the acknowledgement they deserve. The standard of play is good over here and a win in a big match like this in Australia will only re-affirm that.
But my head is telling me the Roosters will get up. They just have too many factors playing into their hands.
Either way, it should be a great game to watch.
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