Last Saturday, the Wigan Warriors completed a trophy sweep with their victory in the Challenge Cup. The Cherry and Whites are the current holders of the Challenge Cup, the World Club Challenge, the League Leaders’ Shield, and the Super League trophy—a feat not seen since St Helens accomplished it in the middle of the 2000s under Daniel Anderson. The Warriors appear well-positioned to contend for the League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final once more in 2024, since they are presently tied for first place in the Super League with St. Helens and have a game remaining.
Given everything they have accomplished, they stand a good chance of winning the one prize they haven’t won yet. As a matter of fact, no Super League team has won this title in almost 20 years. It is a competition that is typically saved for the genuinely elite Rugby League teams, despite the fact that it is one that is won on the pitch.
Rugby League teams have typically been left out of the main awards on the night of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year ceremony. Kevin Sinfield, who placed third in honour of his contribution to the Leeds Rhinos’ 2015 treble-winning team, has come the closest to winning the major award. While rugby league teams have won Team of the Year before, no Super League team has received recognition in an incredible 18 years. After a treble-winning season and a clean sweep of trophies in that calendar year, St Helens was the last team to win the accolade in 2006.
The last Rugby League team to get the honour was Wigan’s victorious squad from the 1990s. They shared the current team’s accomplishment of taking home every prize available when they raised the trophy in 1994. The two Rugby League teams listed above are the only ones to have received recognition throughout the event’s history since it was first presented in 1960. The England men’s football team was nominated in 2021, however St Helens was not selected. On the other hand, eleven Rugby Union teams have won the trophy.
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