Tomkins is one of the best players of the Super League era, without a shadow of a doubt. News. The colours cherry and white are the most synonymous with the club. Connolly started his career as a full-back but he starred in the centres for Wigan after crossing Billinge Hill for £250,000 from rivals St Helens in 1993. Wigan went on to win the game 19–14 after holding off a Saints comeback. The Super 8s stage of the season, Wigan won an unprecedented 7 out of 7 matches including revenge for the Good Friday defeat by soundly beating arch rivals St Helens 30-10 at the Totally Wicked Stadium. In another first this was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI, who presented the trophy. In 2001 Endacott was sacked. During this season Wigan won the Lancashire Senior Competition. Wigan won the 1987 World Club Challenge match against 1987 Sydney (New South Wales Rugby League) Premiers Manly-Warringah at Central Park played on 7 October. The England captain has played 450 games for the Warriors, scoring 88 tries. Michael Maguire was appointed as the new Head Coach ahead of the 2010 season. The try-less game, won 8–2, was played in front of a reported crowd of 36,895, though many of those in attendance believed the attendance was actually closer to 50,000. All Matches. Most decorated player: Shaun Edwards; 8 Championships, 9 Challenge Cups, 3 World Club Challenges. This saw Wigan extend their record to 30 Challenge Cup Finals, winning 19 of them. The club will now be able to deliver an even more extensive community programme via the Wigan Warriors Community Foundation. Brian Noble's tenure as Wigan Head Coach came to an end at the close of the 2009 Super League Season. Even young rugby league fans have heard of Billy B. [16] At the end of his first full season, he and the team won the League Championship, Challenge Cup, Regal Trophy, and Premiership - the 'Grand Slam' of all 4 trophies. We’ve picked out 13 of Wigan’s greatest ever players. On 6 September 1902, Wigan played at Central Park for the first time in the opening match of the newly formed First Division. In 2007 and 2009 Wigan made the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals but were defeated on both occasions. On 27 August 2011, Wigan won the Challenge Cup final against Leeds at Wembley Stadium. The 31-time Great Britain international scored 136 in 309 appearances for the Warriors and was named in the Super League Dream Team on four occasions. The branches of the mountain ash held in the lion's paws add something to the conventional "mantling" or flowered scrolls which usually ornament armorial bearings. WIGAN is not only the oldest borough in Lancashire, it is one of the oldest in England - certainly among the first ten. On 28 September the following year, Sunderland's contract was terminated and he and the club parted company. The King's head in the crest officially represents no particular king, in the words of the Rouge Croix herald (in whose hands the design took shape) it is intended "to be a conventional likeness to an early English Monarch." In 2013, Wigan did the League and Cup Double. The Gold award, only available from 1 April 2009, shows the clubs commitment to Duty of Care and Child Protection, Coaching and Competition, Sports Equity and Ethics and Club Management. The fans have their own supporters club, The Riversiders, who meet monthly and often have special guests at the meetings including past and present players, coaching staff and members of the Rugby Football League. The club played at Prescott Street until the club disbanded. After a series of trial and practice matches, they travelled to Warrington to play their first competitive match on 18 January 1873. Wigan legend Ellery Hanley returned as St Helens coach but a Jason Robinson virtuoso try meant the game was won by Wigan 28–20. The following committee was selected: T.R. Wigan's dominance came under threat with the new league now fully professional and the introduction of the salary cap and the 20/20 rule. The Welshman became the first black player to play for Great Britain on the Lions’ 1954 tour of Australia, and earned 31 caps for GB. After going out of the Challenge Cup to Salford in 1996 and St Helens in 1997, they returned to Wembley for the final time in 1998. For me Bill Ashurst,twentfive years ahead of his time and would have been a world beater in the modern game. Runners-Up: 1910–11, 1919–20, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1983–84, 1998, 2004, 2017.