World Club Challenge: Warriors hit major ticket milestone with fixture closing in on sell-out

More than 20,000 tickets have been snapped up for next month’s much-anticipated clash with NRL champions Penrith Panthers, who are looking to claim their first-ever World Club Challenge title in four attempts.

A night with club legend Frano Botica – as part of the Loch Lomond series at Robin Park Arena – has sold out in the build-up to the fixture on Thursday, February 22, with Wigan chief executive Kris Radlinski aiming for a memorable week of events.

Wigan and Penrith will then go head-to-head in the biggest game of club rugby league on the Saturday with an 8:00pm kick-off.

21,331 fans packed out the DW Stadium the last time the Warriors featured in the World Club Challenge in 2019. The cherry and white outfit fell to a 20-8 defeat at home to Sydney Roosters, with 2023 Grand Final hero Liam Marshall scoring in the fixture alongside Tom Davies.

The victory saw the Roosters lift the trophy for their fifth time – the most successful Australian and NRL side.

Prior to that, Wigan claimed their fourth triumph in 2017, defeating Cronulla Sharks 22-6 in 2017 thanks to tries from Joe Burgess (3) and Oliver Gildart in front of a crowd of 21,011.

Only captain Liam Farrell remains from that starting XVII, with current assistant coaches Sean O’Loughlin and Thomas Leuluai having also featured against then-Shane Flanagan’s outfit.

As things stand, the scores are tied at 14-14 when it comes to overall World Club wins by nation.