Ranking every Super League club by trophies won following Wigan Warriors’ Challenge Cup triumph

Wigan lifted the Challenge Cup for a record-extending 21st time last Saturday courtesy of an 18-8 victory against Warrington Wolves, and in doing so, joined a highly exclusive list of teams to hold all four major honours at once.

This Wigan team are on the road to forming a new rugby league dynasty, and their success got us thinking about how they compare to the rest of the Super League sides right now.

There are plenty of highly decorated teams across the professional game, but following Wigan’s trophy win last weekend, we’ve ranked each of the 12 current top flight teams in order of the trophies they’ve won.

And we’re feeling generous – so pretty much every trophy available at elite first-grade level has been counted. The only silverware we’ve discounted – as far as we know – is as follows:

• Any won below the top tier, like the Championship League Leaders’ Shield, the trophy you get for winning the Million Pound Game or the 1895 Cup
• Any that have been won in short-form games like 7s or 9s
• Any that is played for regularly between two clubs – like Wigan & Warrington’s Locker Cup and Castleford Tigers & Hull KR’s Roger Millward Trophy

We’re not saying they’re not honours, but they’re just not counted here. For full reference, what we have included for each club is broken down beneath their name.

Without further ado, the ranking…

12. London Broncos – 0

London are the only current Super League club without any honour against their name, though did taste silverware with two promotions from the Championship in both 2018 & 2023.

The Broncos came close to a trophy which would have counted towards our standings when they finished runners-up in Super League in 1997, seven points behind champions Bradford Bulls, and when they lost out in the 1999 Challenge Cup final to Leeds Rhinos, beaten 52-16.

The breakdown: N/A

11. Catalans Dragons – 8

Had we restricted two-time beaten Grand Finalists Catalans to the trophies they’ve won in the British game, they’d be sat on two – the 2018 Challenge Cup and 2021 League Leaders’ Shield. But since we’re allowing all of the English clubs their trophies since formation, and way before Super League was a thing, we’ll allow them theirs too.

Having won the League Leaders Trophy two seasons in a row, the Dragons won the French Elite Grand Final in the 2004/05 season, and also have three triumphs in the Lord Derby Cup (Coupe de France Lord Derby) to their name. Their 2017 Million Pound Game success doesn’t warrant inclusion, however.

The breakdown: Lord Derby Cup (3), French Elite Championship League Leaders’ Trophy (2), Challenge Cup (1), French Elite Championship Grand Final (1), (Super League) League Leaders’ Shield (1)

10. Leigh Leopards – 11

Leigh were a dominant force in the second tier in both the early 2000s and mid 2010s, but hadn’t lifted any top-tier silverware for a long time until last year when they lifted the Challenge Cup. In doing so, the Leopards ended a wait of 52 years between Wembley triumphs.

They are now one of just three clubs to have played in at least three Challenge Cup finals without defeat, with two First Division titles and four Lancashire Cups also among the trophies in their cabinet.

The breakdown: Lancashire Cup (4), Challenge Cup (3), First Division (2), Floodlit Trophy (2)

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9. Salford Red Devils – 18

Salford have six First Division titles to boast, with the most recent of those won in the 1975/76 season. The Greater Manchester outfit also won the Lancashire League five times in a seven-year period between 1932 & 1939.

Beaten in the Grand Final by St Helens in 2019, Salford also lost out in the Challenge Cup final to Leeds the following year behind closed doors at Wembley during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Accordingly, they’ve still won just the one Challenge Cup, beaten in seven finals in the competition.

The breakdown: First Division (6), Lancashire Cup (5), Lancashire League (5), Challenge Cup (1), Floodlit Trophy (1)

8. Castleford Tigers – 20

The closest Castleford have ever come to a league title in recent times was 2017, when they won the League Leaders’ Shield before being beaten in the Grand Final by Leeds. But over the years, the Tigers have enjoyed some success in various cup competitions – five-time Yorkshire Cup winners & four-time Challenge Cup winners.

Among the most interesting of any trophies was the one they won against French outfit US Lyon-Villeurbanne in May 1935, victors in the ‘Cup Winners’ Match’. As Challenge Cup winners that year, the Fords faced – and beat – the Lord Derby Cup winners in Montrouge. The game was meant to become an annual event, but was only ever played the once!

The breakdown: Yorkshire Cup (5), Challenge Cup (4), Floodlit Trophy (4), Yorkshire League (3), League Cup (2), Cup Winners’ Match (1), League Leaders’ Shield (1)

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7. Hull KR – 21

KR were crowned First Division champions and won the League Cup in the 1985/86 campaign, with their Yorkshire Cup triumph the following season the most recent bit of silverware included in our 21 count.

The Robins came close to adding more silverware as they reached the Challenge Cup final in 2015, but were beaten 50-0 under the arch by Leeds, and also lost out in the competition’s final again last year, with Leigh beating them in golden point extra time.

The breakdown: Yorkshire Cup (7), First Division (5), Premiership (2), Yorkshire League (2), Challenge Cup (1), Eastern Division Championship (1), Floodlit Trophy (1), League Cup (1), RFU Yorkshire Cup (1)

6. Hull FC – 23

Just ahead of their neighbours across the city, Hull FC have won the Challenge Cup three times since the turn of the millennium, including back-to-back triumphs in the competition in 2016 & 2017, with a 2005 success against Leeds in Cardiff earning the Airlie Birds a first honour since the 1990/91 Premiership title.

The Black & Whites were six times champions of the First Division, and – to date – came closest to Super League glory in 2006 when they were beaten at Old Trafford in the Grand Final by St Helens.

The breakdown: First Division (6), Challenge Cup (5), Yorkshire Cup (5) Yorkshire League (4), Floodlit Trophy (1), Premiership (1), League Cup (1)

5. Warrington Wolves – 38

Had Warrington managed to get the job done in last weekend’s Challenge Cup final, they’d have gone joint-fourth in this ranking, but after an 11th Challenge Cup final defeat, they remain outright fifth. The Wolves constantly get jibed at with the ‘it’s always your year’ chant, and while that may have been warranted in recent memory, they do have 38 trophies in the cabinet.

Among those are nine Challenge Cups, the most recent won in 2019 at Wembley against St Helens, & two Premierships, the last won in the 1985/86 season. Wire won the Super League Leaders’ Shield in both 2011 and 2016, and have reached Old Trafford on four occasions, but were beaten in each of of those four Grand Finals – the latest in 2018 against Wigan.

The breakdown: Challenge Cup (9), Lancashire Cup (9), Lancashire League (8), League Cup (4), First Division (3), League Leaders’ Shield (2), Premiership (2), Floodlit Trophy (1)

4. Huddersfield Giants – 39

Huddersfield is the birthplace of rugby league, and in the 1900s, the Giants enjoyed a decent amount of success – 12-time Yorkshire Cup winners & 11-time Yorkshire League champions among other honours. The Bottom 14 Championship is a unique bit of history, the only-ever winners of that tournament, designed to trial ‘rugby union-like’ playing styles.

The West Yorkshire outfit have won the Challenge Cup six times, though not since 1953 having been beaten in five of the competition’s finals – including 2009 against Warrington and 2022 against Wigan. Huddersfield won the League Leaders’ Shield in 2013, but have never been in a Super League Grand Final.

The breakdown: Yorkshire Cup (12), Yorkshire League (11), First Division (7), Challenge Cup (6), Bottom 14 Championship (1), League Leaders’ Shield (1), RFU Yorkshire Cup (1)

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3. Leeds Rhinos – 68

It’s quite the jump to third spot and Leeds, who are eight-time Super League champions having also won the First Division on three occasions, last winning at Old Trafford in 2017 having been back there once since – beaten by St Helens in 2022.

The Rhinos have won three World Club Challenges, most recently beating Manly Sea Eagles at Headingley in 2012. Additionally, Leeds have won the Challenge Cup on 14 occasions – the second-most success in the competition of any club. Three of those 14 triumphs have come since the turn of the millennium – in 2014, 2015 & 2020.

The breakdown: Yorkshire Cup (17), Yorkshire League (15), Challenge Cup (14), First Division/Super League (11), League Leaders’ Shield (3), World Club Challenge (3), League Cup (2), Premiership (2), Floodlit Trophy (1)

2. St Helens – 71

Saints have 17 top-tier titles to their name including 10 in the Super League era, winning four Grand Finals in a row between 2019 and 2022 in a period of true dominance. The Red V have also won 13 Challenge Cups, with the most recent coming in 2021, beating Castleford under the arch at Wembley.

The Merseyside outfit are also one of only five English teams to win the World Club Challenge, and one of three in Super League currently. They’ve won three of them, and became the club side in the Super League era to win one Down Under in 2023 when they beat Penrith Panthers in their own backyard.

The breakdown: First Division/Super League (17), Challenge Cup (13), Lancashire Cup (11), Lancashire League (9), League Leaders’ Shield (9), Premiership (4), World Club Challenge (3), Floodlit Trophy (2), Charity Shield (1), League Cup (1), Western Division Championship (1)

1. Wigan Warriors – 125

It’s no surprise who tops the list. The Warriors, 23-time champions of the top tier, have lifted an astonishing 125 trophies since their formation in 1872, and you’d fancy them to add a few more to the cabinet over the next few years given how they’re going at the minute.

The Cherry and Whites are currently in possession of all four major honours available to them – the League Leaders’ Shield, Super League title, World Club Challenge & Challenge Cup. They’ve won five World Club Challenges, which is the most of any English team, and joint-most of any club worldwide alongside Sydney Roosters.

The breakdown: First Division/Super League (23), Challenge Cup (21), Lancashire Cup (21), Lancashire League (18), League Cup (8), Premiership (6), Wigan Charity Cup (6), World Club Challenge (5) Charity Shield (4), League Leaders’ Shield (4), League Leaders’ Trophy (4), West Lancashire and Border Towns Cup (2), Floodlit Trophy (1), Lancashire War League (1), War Emergency League (1)

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