Wigan Warriors deny Penrith Panthers first World Club Challenge win in 80 minute thriller

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Jed Wells
• 5 min read
Wigan Warriors vs Penrith Panthers
(Getty Images)

It came down until the final second, but the Penrith Panthers have once again been denied a World Club Challenge win, with the Wigan Warriors claiming a 16-12 victory. 

The three-peating NRL premiers went head-to-head against the reigning Super League premiers but came away empty-handed after their game-winning try attempt was ruled as held up.

In a game somewhat marred by refereeing controversy, the Warriors claimed an unlikely win, led by player of the match Bevan French. 

Wigan hold off Penrith to claim 2024 World Club Challenge

It was an incredibly tight contest between the Australian and English premiers, with no team managing to score back-to-back tries, a result that ended up with Wigan on top. 

The Warriors struck first, Abbas Miski crossing over in just the eighth minute of the game, immediately putting the Panthers on the back foot. 

Confusingly, Penrith were somewhat reluctant to kick the ball early, grounded on fifth tackle five times before putting the ball in the air to end a set - which ultimately ended in a Nathan Cleary try. 

One more try apiece rounded out the first half, before Wigan scored the only try of the second half after having a stunning chip-and-chase effort called offside. 

The match came down to the final play, Taylan May crossing the line but being ruled as held up as the clock expired. 

Wigan's Bevan French was named Man-of-the-match, recording nine runs for 53 run metres, one try assist and one line-break assist, 23 tackles and 77 kick metres. 

After the game, French said that the win was going to be one that he remembered forever, and was eager to credit his teammates despite his heroic efforts. 

"We knew it was going to be tough, but I wasn't expecting it to go down to the last second, so relieved after that last tackle, I don't know how to explain that, really," he said. 

"We just basically said we're just going to dig deep for each other. I think that whole 80% of that game we were down in our own half, spent in our tryline, and didn't get down to their half much.

"So it was just a dig deep for 80 minutes. Really. It was nothing flash, nothing fancy, just tough.

"I'm trying to process it, to be honest. All I want to do is win it for first of all, first and foremost, to be honest, I know what it means to this town and this community and their players. I want to do it for them first. I'm struggling to process what it means to me right now."

Social media reacts to World Club Challenge 2024 refereeing controversy 

Despite what was an action-packed game, it was not without controversy, with a number of questionable whistles sparking heated debate both on social media and in the commentary booth. 

The first came after Wigan's third try, a Jake Wardle effort that did not seem to initially get over the line. However, the onfield referee ruled a try before sending it up to the video referee, meaning they needed conclusive evidence to overturn the decision, which they could not determine. 

The flip side of this situation was then seen on the match's final play when Taylan May crossed the line but grounding was inconclusive.

This time, the onfield call was 'no try', before diverting to the video referee, who was unable to find conclusive evidence to overturn, prompting many to call out a perceived double standard. 

Author(s)
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Jed Wells
Jed is a social media producer for The Sporting News Australia.
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