The Warrington Wolves–Wigan Warriors rivalry is a local rugby leaguerivalry based in Lancashire, England. The two clubs are some of the most successful in England, and annually compete in the Locker Cup to celebrate their rivalry.
Locations of Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors.
The competitive history of the two clubs began on 18 January 1873 when the then two-month-old Wigan Warriors played their first match against Warrington Wolves (who would not form an official team for another three years).[1] Both clubs were founding members of the NRFU, and have enjoyed a fierce rivalry throughout their history. Both sides also have other major rivalries, Warrington vs Widnes Vikings and Wigan vs St Helens, which at times has dampened the rivalry between them. However it was Wigan's dominance in during the late 1980s and 90s which caused the largest taming of the rivalry. It was only in 2009 and 2010 following Warrington's back-to-back victory in the Challenge Cup and the club's subsequently establishing themselves as a Super League Top Four Club which saw the rivalry heat up again as both teams started simultaneously competing for top honours.[2] In the decade that followed, the clubs contested three Super League Grand Finals in 2013, 2016, and 2018. The rivalry has said to have been at its peak between 2011 and 2013.[3]
The Locker Cup (previously the Wardonia Cup until 1972) is a friendly tournament contested by rugby league clubs Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors introduced in 1938. The single game tournament was played as a preseason friendly alternating between the club's home grounds annually until the switch to summer rugby in 1996. It was brought back for Magic Weekend 2019, but was cancelled a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then it has been played for during the Super League season.[1][5][6]
Due to the switch to Summer Rugby, the fixture did not occur between 1996–2018. From 2019 the Locker Cup was revived and was competed for during the season.
Wigan fans packing out the away end at the Halliwell Jones Stadium ahead of a Super League match on 4 September 2011Fights between players of both teams during the matchWarrington plays celebrating at try during the gameWarrington fans at Anfield during their 2019 Magic Weekend fixture vs Wigan
.jpg)
