Rugby World Club Championship

Whilst people talk about world rugby, it is important not to mix this up with the World Club Challenge (WCC), seen as the zenith of club competition in rugby league. This is match up of the leading team from the European game and the Australian game to decide who the best rugby league team in the world are.

This has led to some very competitive World Club Championship betting. You can find World Club Championship betting at 188BET as well as more rugby league betting. Alternatively, read on to learn more about the WCC and past winners.

Starting Out as an Unofficial Event

The World Club Challenge (WCC) is the play-off to decide the best rugby league club in the world between the champions of Australia's National Rugby League and England's Super League.

First played as an unofficial event, the match only took on a recognised status in 1989 with the game played at Old Trafford football stadium between Widnes and Manly-Warringah.

Three further one-off matches were played in the early 1990s, until it was suspended with the outbreak of the three-way dispute between the Australian Rugby League, Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which split Australian rugby league.

After the resolution of the warring Aussie partners, the WCC was re-organised to mimic football's Champions League format, including the top 22 teams from Australia and England.

Returning as a One Off Match

However, it proved to be a commercial disaster for those involved, with the costs of staging the event far too significant as games were staged both in England and Australia.

Subsequently, the tournament failed to appear for the following two years, returning in 2000 as a one-off match staged in England.

Criticised for favouring the English teams too much, as it is played closer to the start of their season and has been held in the northern hemisphere since 2000, the game is lightly regarded in Australia.

Since that time there have been three Australian champions, as opposed to five English, but Manly took the prize back home in 2009, defeating Leeds Rhinos 28-20.