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St Helens R.F.C.–Wigan Warriors rivalry

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St Helens R.F.C. – Wigan Warriors rivalry
St Helens vs Wigan Warriors during the Super League XIV Semi-finals
Other namesWigan Saints Derby
The Good Friday Derby
The Boxing Day Derby
LocationLancashire, England
Teams St. Helens
Wigan Warriors
First meeting5th December 1874 (First Recorded Fixture), 16 November 1895 (First Recorded Rugby League Fixture)
Latest meeting18 April 2025 (Wigan Warriors 24-14 St Helens)
StadiumsTotally Wicked Stadium
DW Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total362
Most winsWigan (206)
All-time series (RFL-1 and SL only)257
Regular season series243
Largest victorySt. Helens 75 – 0 Wigan[1]

The St Helens R.F.C. – Wigan Warriors rivalry is a historic local rivalry between the rugby league clubs St Helens and the Wigan Warriors, based in North West England. The rivalry is born out of relative proximity of the two towns, but as two of the most successful clubs in British rugby it has become a marquee event in the calendar.

Initially at least one fixture was played on Boxing Day annually and was known as the Boxing Day Derby, later the second fixture settled on Good Friday. Following the leagues decision to move the competition from winter to the summer the Good Friday Derby remains the one traditionally fixed game in the calendar.

History

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The Totally Wicked Stadium (left) and the DW Stadium (right) are the homes of The Saints and The Warriors.
See also: History of St Helens R.F.C. and History of Wigan Warriors

St Helens and Wigan are two of the original twenty-two northern rugby clubs that broke away from the Rugby Football Union to form the Northern Union in 1895, which gave birth to the modern day sport of rugby league.[2] Prior to this, the clubs first met on the 5th December 1874 in a fixture at St Helens with the match ending in a draw.[3] The two clubs first encounter in the Northern Union was in the first season of the new code. The fixture was played at St Helens' Knowsley Road ground and ended in a 0-0 draw.[4] The clubs have since faced each other over 300 times in all competitions, and the rivalry has grown to become rugby league's biggest derby encounter.

Over the years the two clubs have become very successful. Wigan are the most successful club in British rugby league, having won 24 league titles and 21 Challenge Cups. St Helens are the second most successful team with 17 league titles and 13 Challenge Cup wins. In rugby league grand finals, the clubs have contested five league championship matches with St Helens claiming the title at Wigan's expense on four occasions (1971, 2000, 2014) and 2020 to Wigan's one grand final success over Saints in 2010.

Locations of St Helens and Wigan on maps of Merseyside (left) and Greater Manchester (right).

Traditional dates

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In keeping with tradition, derby fixtures within the RFL have usually been played on Boxing Day and Good Friday.[5] The first Boxing Day fixture between Wigan and St Helens took place in 1905.[6][7]

Since the move to summer seasons in 1996, Boxing Day games have no longer been competitive and has seen events like Leeds's and Wakefield's Festive Challenge emerge in keeping with the Boxing Day tradition. The Super League however has kept to the tradition of having derbies on Good Friday with St Helens and Wigan not competing a Good Friday Derby on only three occasions since the summer switch.[8]

Head to Head

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Statistics correct as of 05/05/2025.[9]

In all Rugby League competitions, competitive and uncompetitive:

Played St Helens Drawn Wigan
362[a] 138 18 206

Matches by competition

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Competition Played
League (Inc. RFL-1 and SL) 257[b]
Challenge Cup 28
League Cup 2
Charity Shield 1
Premiership 11
Lancashire League 17
Lancashire Cup 17
Yorkshire Cup 4
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy 6
Wartime Emergency League 14
Lancashire Wartime Emergency League 4
Friendlies 15

Meetings in major finals

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Collective Honours

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See also: List of St Helens R.F.C. seasons and List of Wigan Warriors seasons
As of the 2024 season
St Helens Honour Wigan Warriors
Rank No. No. Rank
2nd 17 League Championships 24 1st
2nd 16 League Leaders 22 1st
3rd 13 Challenge Cup 21 1st
3rd 4 Premiership 6 1st[c]
6th 1 League Cup 8 1st
3rd 1 Charity Shield 4 1st
3rd 3 World Club Challenge 5 1st
2nd 8 Lancashire League 18 1st
2nd 11 Lancashire Cup 21 1st
2nd[d] 2 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy 1 5th
Both teams have also received the BBC Sports Team of the Year Award once.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Two of these fixtures were abandoned
  2. ^ Regular Season: 243; Playoffs: 14
  3. ^ Join first with Widnes Vikings
  4. ^ Joint second with Salford Red Devils and Leigh Centurions.

References

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General
Inline
  1. ^ "Rugby league: St Helens 75 - 0 Wigan". TheGuardian.com. 27 June 2005.
  2. ^ "Rugby Football History".
  3. ^ "Wigan Warriors 1874-75 season".
  4. ^ "Wigan Warriors Rugby League Fan Site - www.cherryandwhite.co.uk".
  5. ^ "Rugby League on Christmas Day". 25 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Goulding fired up for `friendly' with Wigan". The Independent. 26 December 1996. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Remembering when St Helens and Wigan played a Christmas cracker". Love Rugby League. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  8. ^ "A Good Friday tradition - Wigan v Saints".
  9. ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/head2head/st-helens-vs-wigan-warriors/all/summary.html
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