What Makes the Wigan Warriors Such A Strong Team?
The Wigan Warriors are a pro rugby league club established and based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Betfred Super League but has gone on to beat teams who have competed for titles like winning the Webb Ellis Cup.
Formed as the Wigan Football Club in 1872, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union and has arguably been the best and most successful club throughout the history of the World Rugby League, having won 22 League Championships (counting 5 Super League Grand Finals), 4 World Club Challenges, 19 Challenge Cups, and more than 100 distinctions in total. The club had a period of sustained accomplishment from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, winning eight consecutive Challenge Cups and seven consecutive League Championships.
To learn more about what and who the Wigan Warriors owe their vast success to, keep reading down below!
The Greatest Club in the British Rugby League
The British Rugby League is honored with the participation of the most seasoned, prestigious and greatest clubs on earth. As the home of the rugby league, a lot of sides have a history filled with successes. In the interim, many teams have created unique associations with the spirit of the game, and the people in their areas have established wonderful fan bases and environments.
The Wigan Warriors are the #1 club in the British rugby league. Here are their stats:
● Championships won: 22
● Challenge Cups won: 19
● World Club Challenges won: 4
● League Leaders’ Shields won: 5
● Other Honors: 59
● Super League Seasons: 26/26
● Fan Base: 4/4.
● Points: 325
No other club has won more cups than the Warriors. They ruled during the 80s and 90s, winning eight Challenge Cups consecutively, thus establishing themselves as Britain’s greatest club. The Wigan Warriors additionally have a huge fan base with an average attendance of more than 12,000 since around 2010. They’ve not accomplished very much in the way of the Super League, yet have won five Grand Finals. No English rugby club has won more World Titles than the Wigan Warriors, who were additionally one of the first pro rugby clubs. Their prosperity began with the likes of Martin Offiah and Ellery Hanley gaining the attention of many at Central Park.
The Four Key Players Who Led the Wigan Warriors to Success in the Grand Final
Last year was verifiably one of the most troublesome years in sporting history, but even though there were many challenges there were also many shining lights. The Wigan Warriors had many rising stars who had their debut Super League opportunities during this time, including the likes of Umyla Hanley, Sam Halsall, and James McDonnell.
While the up-and-coming Warrior stars began to raise their heads, the crucial performers, as is to be expected, were more seasoned names who consistently performed all through Wigan’s journey to the most memorable Grand Final in the competition’s history.
Here are the four standouts who we hope will lead the way once again in 2021.
1. Bevan French
A mid-season catch from roughly eighteen months ago, French has already had a great impact with his unpredictable and complex style. The 25-year-old was the joint-second highest try scorer with twelve tries, and he also upgraded his achievements by giving seven assists to his teammates.
At his best, French is impossible to stop as he managed to accumulate the biggest number of clean breaks with an astounding count of 27. These numerous breaks helped his meters, which ended on a total of 2151, the fifth-highest in the league.
French was embedded into the 2020 Super League Dream Team for his phenomenal series of performances as full-back.
2. Liam Farrell
Hometown forward Farrell has spent his whole professional career at Wigan and has turned into a pillar of strength within the team. Farrell didn’t top any categories, though he did come close on various occasions. He is known for his hard-hitting approach when speeding up towards a line, and he sits at 2,384, thus awarding him second place for meters made, while additionally gathering the fourth-largest number of clean breaks with 24.
The 30-year-old is an all-around star and has had a positive impact on his side’s defensive endeavors too, with his 676 tackles all through the season, the third most noteworthy total in the league. Farrell finished the season with his third appearance in the Dream Team. The invaluable captaincy position is now available after Sean O’Loughlin’s retirement, and Farrell will be one of the top choices.
3. Jackson Hastings
George Williams’ transfer to Canberra left behind a huge half-back void to fill, however, Hastings has grown into that role impeccably. Hastings might wear number 31, but don’t let that distract from his amazing range of abilities, with Hastings demonstrating that squad numbers don’t really mean anything.
Hastings assumed a critical role at half-back and left his opposition behind consistently. Luckily, his teammates were there to support him on several occasions, which permitted Hastings to obtain 18 try assists, the second-highest in the league.
The 25-year-old achieved nine tries of his own as well, for good measure. Presently, even with a smaller squad size, Lam (team coach) has Tommy Leuluai, Jai Field, and also Hastings to call upon. It is certainly a better selection challenge to have, with only exceptional players to choose from.
4. Sam Powell
Sam Powell is a flexible hometown utility player who joined the Wigan Warriors before his Super League debut in 2012. Now at 28-years-old, he has played at half-back on either side but has as of late become a better fit to the hooker role, a position which he will in all likelihood keep due to his squad number, in addition to Lam’s existent tough half-back choices.
Powell ended the season as the runner-up for the most number of tackles, with 705 to his name, and came in third for the number of marker tackles making 158 in total.
These players are just one part of the puzzle that makes the Wigan Warriors such a strong team. What do you think their biggest asset is going into next season?
