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 decision to move the competition from winter to summer, the Good Friday Derby remains the one traditionally fixed game in the calendar.
History
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. Prior to this, the clubs first met on 5 December 1874 in a fixture at St Helens with the match ending in a draw. 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. 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 22 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 in 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 In keeping with tradition, derby fixtures within the RFL have usually been played on Boxing Day and Good Friday. The first Boxing Day fixture between Wigan and St Helens took place in 1905.
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.
Head to Head Statistics correct as of 25/07/2026.https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/head2head/st-helens-vs-wigan-warriors/all/summary.html
In all Rugby League competitions, competitive and uncompetitive:
PlayedSt HelensDrawnWigan36713918210
Matches by competition
CompetitionPlayedLeague (Inc. RFL-1 and SL)278Challenge Cup30League Cup2Charity Shield1Premiership11Lancashire League17Lancashire Cup17Yorkshire Cup4BBC2 Floodlit Trophy6Wartime Emergency League14Lancashire Wartime Emergency League4Friendlies15
Meetings in major finals 1953–54 Lancashire Cup Final: St Helens 16–8 Wigan 1960–61 Challenge Cup Final: St Helens 12–6 Wigan 1965–66 Challenge Cup Final: St Helens 21–2 Wigan 1970–71 NFRL Division One Championship Final: St Helens 16–12 Wigan 1984–85 Lancashire Cup Final: St Helens 26–18 Wigan 1988–89 Challenge Cup Final: Wigan 27–0 St Helens 1990–91 Challenge Cup Final: Wigan 13–8 St Helens 1991–92 Premiership Final: Wigan 48–16 St Helens 1992–93 Charity Shield: St Helens 17–0 Wigan 1992–93 Lancashire Cup Final: Wigan 5–4 St Helens 1992–93 Premiership Final: St Helens 10–4 Wigan 1995–96 League Cup Final: Wigan 48–16 St Helens 1996 Premiership Final: Wigan 25–16 St Helens 1997 Premiership Final: Wigan 32–20 St Helens 2000 Super League Grand Final: St Helens 29–16 Wigan 2002 Challenge Cup Final: Wigan 21–12 St Helens 2004 Challenge Cup Final: St Helens 32–16 Wigan 2010 Super League Grand Final: Wigan 22–10 St Helens 2014 Super League Grand Final: St Helens 14–6 Wigan 2020 Super League Grand Final: St Helens 8–4 Wigan
Collective Honours
As of the 2024 season St HelensHonourWigan WarriorsRankNo.No.Rank17League Championships2416League Leaders2213Challenge Cup224Premiership66th1League Cup81Charity Shield43rd3World Club Challenge58Lancashire League1811Lancashire Cup212BBC2 Floodlit Trophy15thBoth teams have also received the BBC Sports Team of the Year Award once.
See also Derbies in the Rugby Football League
Notes
References
General http://wigan.rlfans.com/readarticle.php?article_id=1824
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