Wigan Warriors

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Wigan Warriors
Full name Wigan Warriors Rugby

League Football Club
Nick name(s) The Warriors,

Cherry & Whites, Pie Eaters
Emblem Wigan coat of arms
Colours Cherry & White
Founded 1872
Sport Rugby League
League Super League (Europe)
Ground JJB Stadium
Capacity 25,150
Coach England Brian Noble
Captain England Sean O'Loughlin
Chairman England Maurice Lindsay
League Wins 1998 (1)
Grand Final Wins 1998 (1)
Challenge Cup Wins 1923/24, 1928/29,

1947/48, 1950/51,

1957/58, 1958/59,

1964/65, 1984/85,

1987/88, 1988/89,

1989/90, 1990/91,

1991/92, 1992/93,

1993/94, 1994/95,

2002 (17)
Official website www.wiganwarriors.com

Wigan Warriors is a professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team currently plays in the Super League. Their current coach is Brian Noble who made the move to the Warriors on 20th April 2006 following over a week of speculation on his future at his former club Bradford Bulls.

The team's players wear cherry and white hooped shirts with white or red shorts, and play at the JJB Stadium. The club is owned by Dave Whelan, who also owns Wigan Athletic F.C. and JJB Sports.

Wigan's fans are also known as 'the pie eaters' this may be a reference to the 1926 general strike when Wigan miners were forced to eat 'humble pie' and return to work before miners in other towns, even though they had been on strike before the other towns joined in. [1]. Alternatively the name 'pie eaters' may have been in circulation prior to this and 'humble' was simply added to it.

Wigan's academy has produced some of the greatest ever rugby league players and some of their players have gone on to play rugby union. Having won both the Championship a record 18 times and the Challenge Cup a record 17 times, they are the most successful rugby league club in English history. Since the advent of the Super League, such success has been elusive, although they were Super League champions in 1998 and Challenge Cup winners in 2002.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The town’s first rugby club was Wigan F.C. founded in 1872 by a group of members of the town’s cricket club. Wigan F.C. played on Folly Field, near Upper Dicconson Street. Until financial problems and an inability to recruit quality players led to a merger with Up Holland F.C. to form Wigan and District F.C. The new club played its home games at the then Wigan Cricket Club, in Prescott Street. Eighteen months later Wigan and District disbanded.

In 1879 Wigan Wasps was formed following a meeting in the Dicconson Arms. The club initially played in blue and white hooped jerseys before changing in 1886 to cherry and white hoops.[2]

Wigan were suspended by the RFU for breaking the strict amateur code despite their argument that broken-time payments were necessary to avoid undue hardship for their working class players. In 1895 WIgan joined with other clubs from Yorkshire and Lancashire to found the Northern Union which led to the sport of rugby league.

[edit] Early 20th century

On 6 September 1902 the club played at its new purpose built ground Central Park for the first time against Batley in the opening match of the newly formed First Division. An estimated crowd of 9,000 spectators saw Wigan beat Batley 14-8.

Wigan won the first Lancashire cup in 1906. In 1911 Wigan lost the cup final to Broughton Rangers. In 1922 Jim Sullivan joined Wigan from Cardiff rugby union team. In that sane year, Wigan became a limited company. In 1924 Wigan won the Challenge Cup for the first time.

In the first Challenge Cup final to be played at Wembley in 1929, Wigan beat Dewsbury 13-2 before a crowd of 41,500. Wigan’s Syd Abram scored the first try and Jim Sulllivan lifted the trophy.

In 1933 the Prince of Wales attended Central Park, becoming the first royal to watch a rugby league match. Wigan defeated the touring French in 1934. Due to the limited amount of rugby league played during World War two, Wigan played in the 1941 Yorkshire Cup.

[edit] Post World War two

Jim Sullivan retired in 1946.

In 1948 Wigan took part in the first televised rugby league match when their 8-3 cup final victory over Bradford was broadcast to the Midlands. In another first this was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI, who presented the trophy. In 1952 Wigan won their sixth consecutive Lancashire Cup.

Billy Boston, a young Welshman doing his national service in the Royal Signals, made his debut for Wigan in 1953.

In 1980, Wigan were relegated, but won promoted the following season.

In 1985 Ellery Hanley signed for Wigan for a fee of £150,000, with Steve Donlan and Phil Ford moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal. Ellery finished his first season with 35 tries.

In 1987, Wigan defeated Australian club Manly-Warringah 8-2 in front of a crowd of over 38,000 at Central Park for an unofficial World Club Championship.

Wigan won the Challenge Cup every year between 1988 and 1995, including six consecutive championship and cup doubles between 1990 and 1995. No team had previously won a national trophy three times in a row. Wigan produced home-grown stars like Shaun Edwards, Denis Betts and Andy Farrell, as well as attracting the cream of British talent - players like Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah who joined in January 1991 for a fee of £440,000 a record for a total cash transfer, Andy Platt and Joe Lydon. High class imports like the Iro brothers and long-serving Graeme West were also a factor. Their dominance was reinforced by moving to full-time professionalism in a game where part-time players were the norm.

In 1992 Wigan became world champions by defeating Australian club Penrith. However, in 1993, Wigan were beaten by Brisbane at Central Park. In a rematch one year later, Wigan beat Brisbane at the ANZ Stadium in Australia to win the 1994 World Club Championship.

In 1995, Wigan won the Challenge Cup for a record eighth consecutive time. They also won the league title for a record seventh consecutive time.

[edit] Super League era

In 1998 the Grand Final and play-offs were introduced into Super League. Wigan Warriors beat Leeds Rhinos 10-4 in first Grand Final.

Wigan's final game at Central Park was against arch rivals St Helens in 1999. Wigan Warriors played their first game at the JJB Stadium on September 19, 1999 against Castleford Tigers.

Frank Endacott joined Wigan Warriors as head coach after the 1999 season and coached them until 2001, when he was sacked. In 2000, Wigan made it to the Super League Grand Final but lost 29-16 to St Helens.

Stuart Raper was offered the role of head coach at Wigan for the 2001 season. In his first season in charge, the Warriors finished second in the table and made it all the way to the 2001 Grand Final; although they ended up losing 37-6 to the Bradford Bulls. He remained with Wigan for a further two seasons in 2002 and 2003 where they finished a respectable third in both seasons but were unable to reach the grand final. Wigan did, however, win the 2002 Challenge Cup overcoming St Helens 21-12 at Murrayfield.

Following the departure of head coach Stuart Raper in July 2003, Mike Gregory was appointed head coach until the end of the 2003 season, while Denis Betts replaced Gregory as assistant. It was the first time since Colin Clarke, in 1985, that a Wigan born man had been head coach of Wigan. He spent three months as caretaker coach, remaining unbeaten for 11 matches and guiding Wigan to the Grand Final making them the first side from outside the top two to get there. Wigan were beaten by Bradford in front of a record, sell-out crowd of 65,537 at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Denis Betts took temporary charge in May 2004 when Gregory stepped down due to illness. He held the position for a year before he was moved sideways by the club to make way for the appointment of new head coach Ian Millward. St Helens defeated Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in front of a sell-out 73,734 crowd

In May 2005 Wigan appointed Ian Millward as head coach above Denis Betts, just two weeks after his acrimonious departure from Wigan's fiercest rivals, St Helens. He had a difficult start with the Warriors, losing a Super League match 70-0 to Leeds and, more humiliatingly, a Challenge Cup tie at St Helens 75-0. Wigan ended the season seventh in the Super League, missing out on the play-offs for the first time in the competition's history. Betts left in November 2005 after refusing to take a post as under-21s coach.

Mike Gregory's contract was not renewed by Wigan and expired in 2005 which resulted in Mike taking Wigan and the club owner, Dave Whelan to court claiming that Wigan should have done more to help him carry on. The case was settled out of court with Wigan agreeing to pay £17,500 to Mike Gregory.

On 11th April 2006 Millward was sacked for their poor start to the Super League XI season; Wigan had won just one of the first eight rounds, which had the club staring relegation in the face. He was replaced by Bradford Bulls & Great Britain coach Brian Noble who was announced as the new head coach of Wigan Thursday 20 April 2006. He started his Wigan tenure with a 46-14 win over the Huddersfield Giants at the Galpharm Stadium. Kris Radlinski came back out of retirement to play for free to try to save his old club. He was joined by Stuart Fielden who joined from Bradford for a record fee.

A run of good results lifted Wigan clear of relegation and made the great escape, Brian Noble is one of the greatest escape artists of all time, but they were docked two points for breaching the 2005 Super League salary cap, also with a £50,000 fine.[3]

[edit] Current squad

As of 15 November 2006:

Number Player Position Previous Club
2 England Mark Calderwood Winger Leeds Rhinos
3 Australia Pat Richards Centre Wests Tigers
4 New Zealand David Vaealiki Centre Parramatta Eels
8 Australia Scott Logan Prop South Sydney Rabbitohs
9 England Mickey Higham Hooker Bradford Bulls
10 New Zealand Iafeta Paleaaesina Prop New Zealand Warriors
11 England Gareth Hock Second Rower Wigan Academy
12 Australia Bryan Fletcher Second Rower South Sydney Rabbitohs
13 England Sean O'Loughlin Loose Forward Wigan Academy
19 New Zealand Harrison Hansen Second Rower Wigan Academy
22 England Joel Tomkins Second Rower Wigan Academy
23 England Paul Prescott Prop Wigan Academy
24 England Darrell Goulding Centre Wigan Academy
25 England Sean Gleeson Centre Wigan Academy
26 England John Walker Centre Wigan Academy
27 England Thomas Coyle Scrum Half Wigan Academy
28 England Michael Mcilorum Hooker Wigan Academy
29 England Chris Ashton Full Back Wigan Academy
30 England Liam Colbon Winger Wigan Academy
33 England Eamon O'Carroll Prop Wigan Academy
35 England Nathan McAvoy Centre Leeds Rhinos
36 England Danny Hill Second Rower Hull FC
37 England Stuart Fielden Prop Bradford Bulls

[edit] Transfers

Transfer for 2007 (In)

Name Signed From Fee Date
Phil Bailey Cronulla Sharks 2006
Trent Barrett St George Illawarra Dragons 2006


Transfer for 2007 (Out)

Name Sold To Fee Date
Wayne Godwin Hull FC 2006
Scott Logan Canberra Raiders 2006
Michael Dobson Canberra Raiders Released 2006
Bryn Hargreaves St Helens Released 2006
Danny Sculthorpe Wakefield Wildcats Released 2006
Brett Dallas Retired 2006
Danny Orr Harlequins RL 2006
Chris Melling Harlequins RL 2006
Oliver Wilkes Widnes Vikings 2006


Transfer for 2006 (In)

Name Signed From Fee Date
Pat Richards Wests Tigers 2005
Iafeta Paleaaesina New Zealand Warriors 2005
Scott Logan South Sydney Rabbitohs 2005
Bryan Fletcher South Sydney Rabbitohs 2005
Mark Calderwood Leeds Rhinos 2005
Mickey Higham Bradford Bulls 2005
Michael Dobson Canberra Raiders 2006
Oliver Wilkes Whitehaven 2006
Jordan James Swinton Lions 2006
Nathan McAvoy Leeds Rhinos 2006
Danny Hill Hull FC 2006
Stuart Fielden Bradford Bulls £450,000 2006


Transfer for 2006 (Out)

Name Sold To Fee Date
Steven Wild Huddersfield Giants 2005
Martin Aspinwall Huddersfield Giants 2005
Brian Carney Newcastle Knights 2005
Terry Newton Bradford Bulls 2005
Jerome Guisset Les Catalans 2005
Andrew Farrell Saracens F.C. 2005
David Allen Widnes Vikings 2005
Bob Beswick Widnes Vikings 2005
James Coyle Widnes Vikings 2005
Desi Williams Hull KR 2005
Liam Botham Retired 2005
Lee Jewitt Cronulla Sharks 2005
Denis Moran Released 2006
Jerry Seu Seu Retired 2006
Jordan James Widnes Vikings 2006
Kevin Brown Huddersfield Giants 2006
Kris Radlinski Retired 2006

Loans for 2006 (In)

Name Signed From Loan Started Loan Ended
Tim Jonkers Salford City Reds March 2006 May 2006


Loans for 2006 (Out)

Name Loan To Loan Started Loan Ended
Bryn Hargreaves Leigh Centurions June 2006 Current
Paul Prescott Leigh Centurions June 2006 Current
Jordan James Widnes Vikings May 2006 Current
Oliver Wilkes Widnes Vikings May 2006 Current
Kevin Brown Huddersfield Giants June 2006 Current

[edit] Coaching Register

Name Contract Started Contract Ended Notes
Brian Noble April 2006 Present N/A
Ian Millward May 2005 April 2006 Sacked
Denis Betts May 2004 May 2005 Quit
Mike Gregory July 2003 November 2005 Sick Leave
Stuart Raper May 2001 July 2003 Sacked
Frank Endacott December 1999 May 2001 Sacked
Andy Goodway June 1999 December 2001 N/A
John Monie November 1997 June 1999 N/A
Eric Hughes February 1997 November 1997 N/A
Graeme West May 1994 February 1997 N/A
John Dorahy June 1993 May 1994 N/A
John Monie September 1989 May 1993 N/A
Graeme Lowe August 1986 June 1989 N/A
Colin Clarke & Alan McInnes August 1984 May 1986 N/A
Alex Murphy June 1982 August 1984 N/A
Maurice Bamford May 1981 May 1982 N/A
George Fairburn April 1980 May 1981 N/A
Kel Coslett October 1979 April 1980 N/A
Vince Karalius September 1976 September 1979 N/A
Joe Coan January 1975 September 1976 N/A
Ted Toohey May 1974 January 1975 N/A

[edit] Famous Former Players

[edit] Honours

  • World Club Challenge: 1987-88, 1991-92,1993-94 (3 times)(the 93-94 victory is the only time a British club has won the trophy in Australia) NB 1987 was the 1st time this competition was played. Then it was only played occasionally. EG. Wigan have won the Championship 8 times since 1987 but only played the WCC 3 more times largely because Australian clubs refused to travel to the UK)
  • Championship (including Super League): 1908-09, 1921-22, 1925-26, 1933-4, 1945-46, 1946-47, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1959-60, 1986-87, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1998 (18 times)
  • Challenge Cup: 1923-24, 1928-29, 1947-48, 1950-51, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1964-65, 1984-85, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2002 (17 times)
  • Premiership: 1986-87, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1996-97 (5 times)
  • Regal Trophy: 1982-83, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1995-96 (8 times)
  • Charity Shield: 1985-86, 1987-88, 1991-92, 1995-96 (4 times)

[edit] Records

[edit] Player records

  • Most tries in a season: 62 by Johnny Ring, 1925-6
  • Most points in a season: 423 by Frano Botica 1994-5
  • Most career goals: 2317 by Jim Sullivan, 1921-46
  • Most career points: 4883 by Jim Sullivan, 1921-46
  • Most career appearances: 774 by Jim Sullivan, 1921-46

[edit] Team records

Highest attendance at the JJB (not including football): 25,004 March 2005 vs St Helens

[edit] See also

  • List of Wigan RLFC Players

[edit] External links

Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club
Wigan Warriors
History | Records | Stadium | Players | Honours
Seasons
2006 | 2007
Stadiums
Folly Field (1872-1877) | Prescott Street (1877-1901) | Springfield Park (1901-1902) |
Central Park (1902-1999) | JJB Stadium (1999-)
Captains
Andrew Farrell (1998-2005) | Sean O'Loughlin (2006-)
Coaches
Stuart Raper (2001-2003 | Mike Gregory (2003-2005) | Denis Betts (2004-2005) |
Ian Millward (2005-2006) | Brian Noble (2006-)


Super League (Europe)

Bradford Bulls | Les Catalans | Harlequins Rugby League | Huddersfield Giants
Hull FC | Hull Kingston Rovers | Leeds Rhinos | Salford City Reds
St Helens | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Warrington Wolves | Wigan Warriors


Rugby league in Britain and Ireland

Competitions
Super League | National League | Challenge Cup | North West Counties | National League Cup
National Conference League | Rugby League Conference | Scotland Rugby League

National teams
Great Britain | England | Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Federations
RFL | BARLA | Rugby League Ireland | Wales Rugby League

Former competitions
Championship | Premiership | Lancs/Yorks Cups | Lancs/Yorks League
Regal Trophy | Charity Shield | BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
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