Before the NRL season kicks off, last year’s premiers, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, are in England preparing for their World Club Series showdown against Super League champions St Helens.
Formerly named the World Club Challenge, the format has been revamped to include four more teams: two each from Australia’s National Rugby League and England’s Super League.
Not only will the Rabbitohs and St Helens be competing, popular NRL clubs Brisbane and St George Illawarra, as well as last year’s Super League runners-up Wigan Warriors, and the Warrington Wolves, will also take part.
The new format sees three matches played across this weekend, with the Wolves to take on the Dragons on Saturday morning before the Warriors lock horns with the Broncos on Sunday morning.
These two matches will serve as exhibition matches before the Rabbitohs and St Helens face off for the World Club Challenge title in the showpiece match on Monday morning (all times AEDT; all three matches will be televised on GEM).
The Bunnies will be without at least six players from last year’s premiership side, with Sam and Luke Burgess, Ben Te’o, Apisai Koroisau and Lote Tuqiri having all left the club, while Kirisome Auva’a is out suspended until at least August after he was charged with the assault of his girlfriend last year.
Their absences are made up for by the arrivals of former NSW State of Origin representatives Glenn Stewart and Tim Grant, arriving from the Sea Eagles and Panthers respectively. Greg Inglis also takes over the club’s captaincy, having replaced John Sutton earlier this year.
Then there’s teenage sensation Chris Grevsmuhl, part of three winning teams even before he’s made his NRL debut, having featured in the Rabbitohs’ Auckland Nines and Charity Shield-winning teams, in addition to also being part of the Indigenous All Stars team which defeated the NRL All Stars on the Gold Coast last week.
Thus Michael Maguire’s men pose a huge threat to St Helens reclaiming the trophy for the first time since 2007, when they beat 2006 NRL premiers the Broncos by 18-14, denying Darren Lockyer the only title he had yet to win (and eventually never won) in his illustrious career.
St Helens, coached by Keiron Cunningham who took over from Nathan Brown at the end of last year, will be expected to field their fair share of former NRL players. Currently playing for the Saints are Travis Burns, Luke Walsh, Mose Masoe, Atelea Vea and Lance Hohaia, who in last year’s Super League grand final was on the wrong end of a vicious king hit from Wigan prop Ben Flower.
The incident between Flower and Hohaia, which occurred just two minutes into the decider, was an explosive talking point in a match the Saints won 14-6 over the 12-man Warriors (Flower was sent off for the incident).
With the match being played at Langtree Park, it’s expected the hosts will have the full support of the home crowd.
Meanwhile, both the Dragons and Broncos arrive in England on the back of some mixed pre-season form: the Dragons were impressive as they held the Rabbitohs to a draw in the Charity Shield match, and also won two of their three matches at the Auckland Nines, albeit narrowly.
The Broncos, on the other hand, suffered an upset 34-12 loss to Queensland Cup side Wynnum-Manly in a trial match last weekend, and are struggling to readjust to the coaching style of foundation coach Wayne Bennett, who returned to the club ahead of this season for the first time since 2008.
Both clubs have previously participated in the World Club Challenge before: the Dragons won in 2011 with then-assistant coach Steve Price in charge, while the Broncos lost to St Helens in their most recent appearance in 2007 and haven’t won the event since the ill-fated 1997 edition.
Their previous successes at the event, as well as their strong commercial value in Australia, were two primary reasons why they have been invited to participate in the revamped World Club Series.
Both clubs will want to justify their invitations to play in the event by upstaging their English counterparts, though it will be somewhat of a disruption to their pre-season preparations, and a departure from the usually warm conditions in Australia at this time of the year.
Neither the Dragons, Broncos or Rabbitohs will have any time to rest and recover following the World Club Series, with the NRL season kicking off between the latter two teams on March 5, two-and-a-half weeks after the three teams play in England’s north.
World Club Series
Game 1
Warrington Wolves versus St George Illawarra Dragons
Saturday, February 21, 7:00am AEDT (Friday, February 20, 8:00pm local time)
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Game 2
Wigan Warriors versus Brisbane Broncos
Sunday, February 22, 6:45am AEDT (5:45am Queensland time, Saturday, February 21, 7:45pm local time)
DW Stadium, Wigan
Game 3 – World Club Challenge
St Helens versus South Sydney Rabbitohs
Monday, February 23, 6:00am AEDT (Sunday, February 22, 7:00pm local time)
Langtree Park, St Helens
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