Field, French star for Wigan as WCC again eludes Penrith

Former Dragons fullback Jai Field produced two try saving tackles and laid on the match winner as Wigan stunned Penrith to secure a controversial 16-12 win in the World Club Challenge.

Spurred on by a vocal crowd of 24091 at a sold out DW Stadium, the Warriors ensured the World Club Challenge is the one trophy that continues to elude the three-times NRL champions.

Penrith led 12-10 at halftime after a see-sawing opening 40 minutes but Field laid on the only try of the second half for former Newcastle centre Joe Wardle with a deftly placed kick.

There was controversy over whether Wardle had ground the ball but the try was awarded and Wigan's defence was outstanding as they held out Penrith until fulltime.

Man-of-the-match Bevan French was denied a try that would have sealed the win after being deemed offside from a kick by halfback Harry Smith and the Warriors needed to rely on Field's defence at the back.

After chasing down Taylan May and bundling him into touch, Field held up the Panthers centre on the final tackle of the game and Wigan celebrated after the video referee confirmed the on-field decision of no try.  

Wigan stunned the Panthers in the ninth minute when Lebanon international and former Manly winger Abbas Miski scored off a perfectly placed long ball from five-eighth Bevan French on their first attacking foray of the match.

The Panthers showed great patience to stick to a tactic of running the ball on the last tackle for the last 30 minutes and it paid dividends when star playmaker Nathan Cleary kicked for the first time near the Wigan line.

The ball bounced off the shoulder of Miski and into the arms of Penrith hooker Mitch Kenny, who passed to Cleary to score.

French, who scored a record seven tries in a match for Wigan in 2022 and has crossed for 68 tries in 74 Super League matches, again turned creator when hooker Kruise Leeming regained the lead in the 33rd minute.

A cut-out pass from French put centre Adam Keighran into space and he linked with Miski, who turned the ball inside to Willie Isa inside and Leeming backed up to receive the final pass and score. 

After missing last year's WCC with a leg injury, Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards ensured he would have an impact on the 2024 decider when he scored in the 39th minute to give the NRL champions a 12-10 lead at halftime. 

Scotland centre Joe Wardle, who played for Newcastle Knights in 2017, regained the lead for Wigan with a controversial try in the 53rd minute after racing onto a Jai Field kick near the Penrith line and crashing over.

Replays proved inconclusive as to whether Wardle had got the ball down over the tryline but referee Liam Moore sent it up for review as a try and officials found insufficient evidence to overturn the call.

Panthers centre Taylan May, playing his first match since suffering an ACL rupture in last year's WCC loss to St Helens, looked set to score but Field ran him down and produce a try saving tackle and bundle the Samoa international into touch.

The crowd erupted when French raced through to collect a scrum-base kick from England halfback Harry Smith but the former Parramatta speedster was deemed to be off-side.

There was further controversy when May crashed over on the final tackle of the match but Field managed to get under him and insisted to Moore that he had held up the Panthers centre.

Replays again proved inconclusive and the try was disallowed, ensuring the Warriors hung on to repeat their 1991 defeat of Penrith, who have now lost all four WCC matches the club has contested.