| 2008 (2008) World Club Challenge | |||||||||||||
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 Elland Road hosted the match | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 29 February 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Elland Road | ||||||||||||
| Location | Leeds, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| Man of the Match | Kevin Sinfield | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Ashley Klein | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 33,204 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
| Commentators | |||||||||||||
The2008 CarnegieWorld Club Challenge was contested betweenSuper League XII champions, theLeeds Rhinos andNational Rugby League season 2007 premiers, theMelbourne Storm. For the fifth consecutive year the English home team defeated their Australian counterparts.
Leeds Rhinos qualified through being the 2007 Super League champions, defeatingSt. Helens 33–6 in the Grand Final.
Melbourne Storm clinched the 2007 National Rugby League title in a 34–8 belting ofManly, earning them a place in the World Club Challenge.
Melbourne played a warm-up game againstNational League One teamHalifax.[1]
Melbourne's squad included 11 members of the 2007 premiership team, but were missing captainCameron Smith who had stayed in Australia to be present for the birth of his first child.[2]
| Leeds Rhinos | Position | Melbourne Storm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Brent Webb | 1 | 1 | Billy Slater | |
| Lee Smith | 5 | 2 | Steve Turner | |
| Clinton Toopi | 3 | 3 | Will Chambers | |
| Keith Senior | 4 | 4 | Israel Folau | |
| Scott Donald | 2 | 5 | Anthony Quinn | |
| Danny McGuire | 6 | 9 | Matt Geyer | |
| Rob Burrow | 7 | 7 | Cooper Cronk (c) | |
| Kylie Leuluai | 8 | 8 | Jeff Lima | |
| Matt Diskin | 9 | 11 | Jeremy Smith | |
| Jamie Peacock | 10 | 10 | Brett White | |
| Jamie Jones-Buchanan | 11 | 14 | Antonio Kaufusi | |
| Gareth Ellis | 12 | 12 | Ryan Hoffman | |
| Kevin Sinfield (c) | 13 | 13 | Dallas Johnson | |
| Ali Lauitiiti | 14 | 6 | Russell Aitken | |
| Ryan Bailey | 16 | 15 | Adam Blair | |
| Nick Scruton | 17 | 16 | Sika Manu | |
| Carl Ablett | 19 | 17 | Sam Tagataese | |
 Brian McClennan | Coach |  Craig Bellamy | ||
| Leeds Rhinos | 11 – 4 |  Melbourne Storm |
|---|---|---|
| Tries:1 Donald  38'Goals:3 Sinfield  pen 11',39',pen 60'(3/3)Drop goals:1 Sinfield 68' | 1st: 8 – 4 2nd: 3 – 0 Report | Tries:1 Hoffman 16'Goals:0/1 Turner(0/1) |
The match was played in cold and windy conditions, four rounds into the2008 Super League competition and one week before the start of the2008 NRL season. 33,204 spectators turned out atElland Road, in Leeds for a hard-fought, low-scoring match in which each side scored a try apiece, with Leeds ultimately coming out winners, due largely to the goal kicking ofKevin Sinfield. The win meant the English champions side defeated their Australian counterparts for the fifth consecutive year.
Kevin Sinfield opened the scoring for Leeds, converting a penalty goal from directly in front of the posts, but Melbourne would score the first try with acting captainCooper Cronk sendingRyan Hoffman over the line in the 16th minute to take a 4–2 lead.[2][3]Steve Turner could not add the conversion in the blustery conditions.
Danny McGuire would leave the field in the half due to a shoulder injury,[3] however in his absence, Leeds would take a half time lead whenBrent Webb floated a pass toScott Donald to score a try in the corner. Sinfield's conversion from the sideline giving Leeds a 8–4 lead.[2]
Heavy rain greeted the players upon the resumption. Turner would not return for Melbourne after half time due to concussion.Clinton Toopi would then join McGuire on the sidelines through injury for Leeds, with Toopi suffering an arm injury.[3] A biting allegation against Leeds wingerLee Smith was a minor controversy midway through the second half, but despite immediately reporting the incident to the touch judge, Melbourne'sWill Chambers refused to file an official complaint at full time.[2]
In a battle of attrition, defence won out as the half progressed, with Melbourne unable to find a way through the Leeds line.[4] Chambers came close to a late try in the 78th minute, but his foot found the touch line before he could ground the ball.[4] In the end Sinfield's penalty goal in the 60th minute and drop goal 12 minutes from full time, were the only points in the second half.[2]
