Winning the Quadruple is Only the Beginning for the Wigan Warriors
10/18/2024 10:39 AM
Most Wigan Warriors supporters would have been delighted to see their beloved team lift one trophy this season. So imagine the joy those loyal fans feel today, having seen the 2024 Wigan Warriors complete the team’s second-ever quadruple, winning the World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield, and the coveted Grand Final during a single campaign, matching the quadruple-winning team of 30 years ago.
Wigan fans are used to seeing their team win. After all, the Warriors are the most successful club in the history of world rugby league, having captured 100 trophies since its formation in 1872. The club dominated rugby league throughout the 1980s and early 1990s but lost its grip somewhat since the start of the Super League era. However, the incredible 2024 Warriors have shown that the team is back to its brilliant best.
Having won three trophies before last weekend’s Grand Final clash with Hull KR, the online sportsbook Mybookie priced the Wigan as narrow favorites to complete the quadruple. After a nervy opening 20 minutes, Australian fullback Bevan French produced a moment of magic to go over the line for his 16th try of the season. Harry Smith extended Wigan’s lead with a drop-goal as halftime approached, and Wigan had one hand on the trophy.]
A Mikey Lewis penalty put Hull KR on the scoreboard, but Adam Keighran’s kick put the result beyond doubt, locking in a 9-2 victory and rounding off an incredible season for the boys in cherry and white.
Matt Peet’s Seven Trophies in 99 Games
Matt Peet is Wigan-born and bred. As a youngster, Peet dreamed of representing his boyhood club but failed to make the grade and only competed at amateur level. After graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with an English degree in 2005, he returned to the sport he loved, focusing on coaching.
Peet joined Wigan in 2008 and held numerous coaching roles. Ten years later, he switched codes and joined Sale Sharks before returning to Wigan as the assistant coach in 2019. Then-head coach Adrian Lam left his role at the end of the 2021 season, and Peet was promoted.
It proved a masterstroke from the Wigan senior management team because Peet guided the Warriors to victory in the 2022 Challenge Cup in his first season in charge. Peet won the League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final in 2023 before capturing all three domestic trophies, plus the World Club Challenge in 2024. Amazingly, Peet has only been Wigan’s head coach for 99 games, yet has won seven trophies during that time!
A Team Built on an Impervious Defense
Peet’s Wigan team has a watertight defense and incredible attacking talent. Defensively, Wigan has only conceded three tries across their past Challenge Cup, World Club Challenge, and two Grand Finals victories. Speaking to the BBC after winning the Grand Final, Peet said a strong defense is everything in rugby league.
“I attach defense to team spirit and culture,” Peet said. “Bevan French has his moments with the ball. It’s amazing how he has that innate talent, but he’s always contributing towards defense. Defense runs through everything we do. They looked like they were enjoying defending today. We continued to turn up for one another. That’s why defense makes me proud. It comes down to how much you want to do it for each other.”
Throughout the regular season, Wigan’s defense only allowed 338 points. They only conceded 20 or more points five times throughout the Super League season and limited opponents to single digits on 12 occasions, including four clean sheets. You always have a chance to win rugby games if you don’t allow your opponents to rack up hefty scorelines.
Peet’s coaching methods have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated by his players. Grand Final try-scorer French was full of praise for his head coach.
“He knows how to get the best out of everyone. It’s a pleasure to work with someone like him. I think I speak on everyone’s behalf for what he’s achieved for us. He’s turned the club around in a short amount of time. I think he deserves every bit of recognition he can get. I know myself personally, and everyone else in the team wants to work hard for him.”
Wigan Chief Executive Believes Quadruple is Only the Start for Peet’s Team
How does a team that has won everything there is to win during a season plan for the upcoming campaign? Wigan’s Chief Executive Kris Radlinski believes winning the quadruple is only the start for this team and that it can go on and achieve greatness in rugby league. Although it is unlikely Wigan will get to defend their World Club Challenge next year because it could clash with the Super League Las Vegas event in March, Radlinksi is confident Peet’s team can repeat a domestic treble.
Speaking on the BBC’s 5 Live Rugby League, Radlinksi said, “We set out last year to create something that people would talk about for years to come. We still talk about 1987. We wanted to replicate that. Everyone wants to knock the champions off their perch, but to do it and do it back-to-back is incredible. When you are a defending champion, everyone raises their game to play against you.”
The 1987 that Radlinski mentioned was when Wigan won a record 29 games in a row between February and October.
When is Wigan Back in Action
Peet and his players are heading off to warmer climes for some much-deserved rest and recuperation, but they don’t have much time to rest on their laurels. Wigan has a preseason friendly against the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on January 26, with the 2025 Super League season commencing on February 13.
