Which club won the first Rugby League World Club Challenge in 1976?
Answer
Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs won the first Rugby League World Club Challenge in 1976.
The Australian club defeated St Helens 25–2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match brought together the champions of Australia and England, creating an international club championship between the leading teams of the two major rugby league countries.
Eastern Suburbs, now known as the Sydney Roosters, had won the 1975 NSWRFL premiership. St Helens were the reigning champions of Britain’s 1974–75 Championship competition, so the fixture matched the titleholders from both hemispheres.
The World Club Challenge was not held every year in its early period. It later became a regular fixture, usually involving the winners of the NRL and Super League, and it remains one of club rugby league’s best-known international contests.