During Tours to South Wales and Devonshire, Wigan played may a famous Club. Swansea, Cardiff, Neath and Llanelli can all claim to have once or twice played the World Famous Wigan Rugby Club. In Wales, Wigan did well, apart from when they faced Cardiff. Three matches and three losses is all we need to know for this part of the website. Such were South Welsh rivalries, the Cardiff club often supplied Wigan with players to attend matches when we played against Neath, Pontypridd or Swansea!
A case of mistaken identity now. On Christmas Eve, 1888, the Wigan club had heard of the fortunes of a rugby club from Hartlepool who by all accounts were 'ripping it up' in the rugby world, so to speak. So, the Wigan committee decided to try and attract a good gate and sent out an invitation to the East Coast and back came a reply by the Hartlepool Rangers. Once the teams lined up at the Frog Lane ground, it was immediately evident that the wrong team from Hartlepool turned up! Hartlepool Rovers were the form, exciting team - not the Rangers! Wigan ended up playing a mixture of first and second team players and won quite comfortably. It would be like in today's money, Wigan v. Beverley! Red faces all round at the Wigan headquarters at the Legs of Man Hotel.
A team consisting of Jim Slevin, Jack Anderton, Hindley Smith, Jack Hunter, Tom Brayshay et al., faced an old-rugbyite team of Owens College, Manchester in November 1885. These guys were one of the old guard of Rugby circles in Lancashire when gentlemen still ruled the roost, as opposed to the peasants of towns like Wigan or Warrington. Wigan annihilated Owens College, scoring 3 goals, 8 tries and 8 minor points to nil. This was a rout. Owen's College requested Wigan to send their second team for the reverse fixture. It was also a sign that the old guard clubs of Manchester and Liverpool, those who held power in Lancashire, were starting to lose their grip of the game played by gentlemen. Faced against hungry, skilful Colliermen, they had no chance.
