How many English clubs have won the World Club Challenge?

Hull Kingston Rovers pulled off a stunning upset to beat Brisbane Broncos in the 2026 World Club Challenge.

Played at rivals Hull FC's MKM Stadium owing to ticket demand, the Robins were roared on by a sell-out crowd of 24,600. Willie Peters' men got off to a dream start with tries through Tom Amone, Elliot Minchella and Joe Burgess to take an 18-0 lead after 22 minutes.

The Broncos, who boasted the likes of Reece Walsh, Patrick Carrigan, Kotoni Staggs and Gehemat Shibasaki amongst their ranks, all plying their trade for Australia last year, finally got on the board through Shibasaki, but trailed 18-4 at the break.

The hosts found themselves in dreamland when Oliver Gildart and Peta Hiku went over to put them 30-4 ahead before the Broncos launched a nerve-jangling comeback.

Scoring 16 points in five minutes, the NRL champions got within 10 of their Super League counterparts with Staggs going over late on to reduce the deficit to six, setting up a tense climax.

But the KR defence held firm to secure a famous win, becoming the sixth English club to win the World Club Challenge, and the fifth in the Super League era.

It was the third consecutive victory for the Super League representative in the competition, following in the footsteps of St Helens in 2023 and Wigan Warriors in 2024. with the run coming after a period of dominance for NRL sides.

Australian teams won nine out of 11 matches between 2009 and 2020, not including Melbourne Storm's win over Leeds in 2010 which was revoked due to salary cap breaches. Prior to that, however, Super League clubs frequently downed their NRL rivals, with St Helens, Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos all winning at least twice between 2001 and 2008.

Take a look at the full list of English World Club Challenge winners below

English World Club Challenge winners

• Wigan Warriors (5) - 1987, 1991, 1994, 2017, 2024

• Leeds Rhinos (3) - 2005, 2008, 2012

• St Helens (3) - 2001, 2007, 2023

• Bradford Bulls (3) - 2002, 2004, 2006

• Widnes Vikings (1) - 1989

• Hull Kingston Rovers (1) - 2026