Renouf warns Panthers to beware underdog Saints in WCC clash

St Helens arrived here as four-time Super League champions, yet bookmakers have written off their chances of beating NRL kings Penrith in Saturday’s showdown at BlueBet Stadium for the title of the world’s best rugby league club.

The English champions have travelled over 17,000km in a bid to become the first northern hemisphere club to win the World Club Challenge in Australia in almost 30 years.

The last team to do that was the mighty Wigan Warriors, winning a brutal match 20-14 against a powerful Brisbane Broncos side in front more than 50,000 at ANZ Stadium in 1994.

Because of scheduling, that clash was played in June, not at the start of the Australian league season.

Former Broncos, Queensland and Australia centre Steve Renouf, who played in three WCC finals — including the 1994 one, his only loss — told BettingSite.com.au this week not to write off the $8 outsiders, because “anything could happen”.

“We had a tremendous team in 1994 and Wigan shocked us on the night,” said Renouf, who later went to England and scored 43 tries in 59 appearances for the Warriors.

“We were shattered when they beat us at ANZ.

“I did my hammy in that game, it cost me an Origin game, so I wasn’t that happy about the timing of the game.

“But we always took those games seriously and played our best teams. We took a lot of pride in winning those games and being known officially as the best club team in the world.”

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Like St Helens, Wigan arrived Down Under in 1994 boasting four straight wins in the English championship and Challenge Cups.

Even more curious is that their rivals, Penrith, have won the last two NRL premierships, just like Brisbane had done back in 1992-93.

Both teams were loaded with superstars.

Brisbane boasted the likes of Allan Langer and Kevin Walters (who only lasted five minutes due to an ankle injury) in the halves, Renouf and Chris Johns in centres, and speedsters Michael Hancock and a young Wendell Sailor occupying the wings.

Up front they had they had tough men Glenn Lazarus and Andrew Gee providing the muscle and supported by Alan Cann.

Like Penrith will be on Saturday night, they were heavy favourites.

Wigan also had a terrific side, bristling with speed and toughness and experience led by captain and halfback Shaun Edwards, who took man-of-the-match honours.

They had lost both their starting props, Kelvin Skerrett (broken jaw) and Andy Platt (also injured), before the clash.

But they came up with a couple of tough men in Billy McGinty and Neil Crowe who were ably supported by a dynamic backrow of Dennis Betts, Andy Farrell and Phil Clarke.

And they had that man Martin Offiah, a blistering winger, who by the end of his career had accumulated over 500 tries — including a record 10 in one match.

Renouf was a flyer, but even he conceded Offiah would have easily beaten him in a foot race.

“I hadn’t seen a lot of Offiah before that,” recalled Renouf.

But he remembered Brisbane playing Wigan in the final of World Sevens in Sydney in 1992 when Offiah was named player of the tournament.

“It was played in a quagmire, and I think he scored four tries in that final, we couldn’t touch him,” he said.

St Helens have won the WCC twice, in 2001 and 2007, both times beating Brisbane in the UK.

Penrith have lost both their WCC finals in 1991 and 2004.

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