Where are they now? The Wigan Warriors side from the Camp Nou in 2019

Wigan may have left the Camp Nou beaten in May 2019, but the Warriors departed Spain having played their part in a history-making occasion.

To this day, their 33-16 defeat to Catalans Dragons, played out in front of 31,555 supporters, remains in the record books as the highest-ever attended ‘regular’ Super League game.

David Mead (2), Sam Kasiano, Samisoni Langi & ex-Warrior Micky McIlorum all got their names on the scoresheet with tries for hosts Catalans, who utilised the event to try and tap into a new market of fans in the heart of Spain’s Catalonia region.

Tony Gigot was responsible for 13 of their points, kicking six conversions as well as successfully slotting over a drop-goal.

We look at where the Wigan side from the game are today…

Zak Hardaker

2019 was Hardaker’s first season with Wigan and first back in the game having served his ban for the use of cocaine two years prior. Scoring the last try of this game after the final hooter with a chip and chase, he would remain with the Warriors until midway through the 2022 campaign, departing under a bit of a cloud as he stated he wished to move closer to home in Yorkshire.

Joining Leeds for the remainder of that season, the versatile back reached the Grand Final before linking up with Wigan’s neighbours Leigh Leopards as they were promoted into Super League. Winning the Challenge Cup with the Leopards last term, the 32-year-old recently surpassed 350 career appearances.

Liam Marshall

Marshall was another of Wigan’s try-scorers in Barcelona, scoring their first points of the game just before the end of the first half as he raced away down the right. The winger has never left his hometown club, and is now a two-time Super League winner, lifting every trophy there is to win over the last two years.

Having turned 28 earlier this month, the ex-Swinton Lions loanee surpassed the milestone of 150 career tries in April and is fast approaching 200 career appearances. All bar 22 of his 187 so far have come in a Wigan shirt.

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Dan Sarginson

Three-time England international Sarginson spent five seasons with Wigan in total across two stints, separated by a year in the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans. 2019 was the last of those five years as a Warriors player, with the Perth-born ace moving on to Salford Red Devils.

The 30-year-old’s time at Salford only officially ended in March 2023, though due to a combination of injury and illness, he hadn’t played a game since August 2022. Upon leaving the Red Devils, he spoke to say he was quitting rugby league, wanting to ‘find more purpose’ in life. Now, he is a public speaker on the topic of mental health, regularly delivering talks in schools.

Oliver Gildart

Hindley-born Gildart – a three-time England international who scored Wigan’s second try at the Camp Nou to pull the score back to 33-10 – came through his hometown club’s academy, and his time with the Warriors came to an end in 2021 having scored 65 tries in 143 appearances.

Heading Down Under with Wests Tigers, the centre also had a loan stint with the Sydney Roosters before heading back to Super League and linking up with Leigh midway through last season. The 27-year-old had already agreed to join Hull KR from 2024, but ended 2023 with the Leopards before linking up with the Robins. He is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

Joe Burgess

Gildart’s best mate Burgess was a team-mate at the Camp Nou, and is one today at KR having joined Willie Peters’ Robins from Salford ahead of this season. The Red Devils were the club the winger joined when he departed Wigan at the end of the 2020 season, and he scored 23 tries in 54 appearances for Paul Rowley’s side prior to his departure.

Having got 107 in 129 appearances for the Warriors, the three-time England international has continued to find his way over the try-line at KR, grabbing 10 in his first 11 appearances for his new club. At 29, the Ince Rose Bridge junior now has 197 senior career appearances on his CV.

George Williams

Another academy product donning the colours of his hometown club at the Camp Nou was Williams, who now captains England and has 19 international appearances to his name including the one he made for Great Britain that same year. The playmaker eventually departed Wigan after 179 appearances for the club at the end of the 2019 season for a crack at the NRL.

Linking up with Canberra Raiders, Williams featured 32 times in an 18-month stint Down Under before returning to Super League with Warrington Wolves in July 2021. He’s remained at the Halliwell Jones Stadium ever since, and at 29 is now their vice-captain. He will make a 299th career appearance in the Challenge Cup final against Wigan next month.

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Tommy Leuluai

40-time Kiwi international Leuluai, now 38, first arrived at Wigan in 2007 from London Broncos, and by the time he hung up his boots at the end of the 2022 season, he’d made 327 appearances for the Warriors over two stints. Those two stints sandwiched a return to the New Zealand Warriors which lasted four seasons between 2013 & 2016.

All told, the Auckland-born ace fell just short of 500 career appearances, but enjoyed an absolutely remarkable career, winning the World Cup in 2008 and twice being crowned a Super League champion. He’s still with Wigan to this day as one of Matt Peet’s assistants, recently signing a mammoth seven-year contract which runs until the end of the 2030 season.

Ben Flower

Cardiff-born dual-code prop Flower joined Wigan in 2012 and featured 184 times in cherry & white before departing at the end of the 2020 season. He rounded off his career with a brief stint at neighbours Leigh, playing five times for the then-Centurions in 2021 as they were relegated from Super League.

The 15-time Wales international, who donned the shirts of both North Wales Crusaders & South Wales Scorpions before linking up with Wigan, retired from rugby league that same year and joined Welsh rugby union outfit Pontypool RFC. At 36, Flower now runs ‘The Rugby Wrestle Academy’, tutoring youngsters, and is involved in coaching with a junior side in South Wales.

Sam Powell

Until this season, Powell hadn’t been contracted to another club in his whole career, spending it all with hometown club Wigan. Making 273 senior appearances for the Warriors, the hooker had only ever played eight other games out on loan at Workington Town & South Wales Scorpions.

That was until the 31-year-old, a three-time Super League champion, departed for Warrington. He’s scored two tries in his first 15 appearances for the Wolves and will likely line up against his former employers in next month’s Challenge Cup final. A three-time England Knights international, Powell could make his 300th career appearance this week in the league against Wigan, too.

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Romain Navarrete

Frenchman Navarrete has been back with Catalans since the start of the 2023 campaign, with this his third stint as a Dragons player. Wigan actually signed him from the Perpignan outfit and then loaned him back to Steve McNamara’s side towards the end of the 2017 campaign.

The forward departed Wigan permanently in 2021 when he joined London Broncos, and he went on to feature for Toulouse Olympique before making his return to Catalans. A nine-time France international, the 29-year-old – who spent 2014 with Hemel Stags – has made a total of 171 appearances in the British game to date.

Willie Isa

Just over five years on from this trip to the Camp Nou, Isa is the only remaining active member of Wigan’s squad, but that could well change come the end of this year. The 35-year-old has been with the Cherry & Whites since 2016, making 209 appearances for the club, but approaching the end of his deal, he’s now sidelined long-term after sustaining a fracture dislocation to his ankle.

A one-time Samoa international, the Auckland native – who briefly appeared in the NRL for both Penrith Panthers & Melbourne Storm – also featured 11 times for Castleford Tigers & 87 for Widnes Vikings prior to joining Wigan. He surpassed 300 appearances in the British game at the start of 2024.

Joe Greenwood

Greenwood, who turned 31 last month, also started at the Camp Nou. The Oldham-born ace, who came through the academy at St Helens, joined Wigan in 2018 following his stint in the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans and lifted the Super League title at Old Trafford later that year.

Departing the Warriors for fellow Super League outfit Huddersfield Giants in 2021, the one-time England international remains at the John Smith’s Stadium today, featuring 70 times altogether for Ian Watson’s side to date.

Tony Clubb

Rounding off the Warriors’ 13 in Barcelona was an ‘adopted Wiganer’ in Kent native Clubb, who made over 150 appearances for London – also playing under the ‘Harlequins RL’ guise – prior to joining the Cherry & Whites in 2014. The Gravesend-born ace, a three-time England international, went on to reach an even higher number of appearances for Wigan, ending on 165.

Retiring at the end of the 2021 season, Clubb went on to make the jump into coaching across the borough at Leigh as one of their assistants. He remains at the ‘Leopards’ Den’ today in the same role.

Sean O’Loughlin (Interchange)

A true legend of the game and a one-club man, no one has made more appearances for Wigan in the Super League era than O’Loughlin, who’d featured 459 times and scored 88 tries for his hometown club by the time he hung up his boots at the end of the 2020 campaign.

The 41-year-old also represented England, England A, Great Britain & Lancashire during a career which saw him named in the Super League Dream Team on eight occasions. Alongside former team-mate Leuluai, he’s now an assistant to Warriors head coach Peet at The Brick Community Stadium, also signing a deal until the end of the 2030 season recently.

Chris Hankinson (Interchange)

Another Wigan native on the interchange bench for the Warriors at the Camp Nou was Hankinson, who was officially contracted to his hometown club from 2018 to 2021, making 23 appearances amid a whole host of loans elsewhere. The 30-year-old centre joined the Cherry & Whites from Swinton, and when he departed, it was for Toulouse who had just been promoted.

He went on to star for Featherstone Rovers last term, and linked up with Salford ahead of this season having spent time in the Red Devils’ academy many moons ago. His final appearance for Fev last year saw Hankinson reach the milestone of 300 career appearances at club level having also – unofficially – representing Cumbria once during his time at Barrow Raiders.

Taulima Tautai (Interchange)

Sydney-born Tautai had made 72 NRL appearances between Parramatta Eels & Cronulla Sharks when he arrived in Super League at Wakefield Trinity in 2013. He spent two seasons at Belle Vue prior to joining Wigan ahead of the 2015 season, and won two Grand Finals with the Warriors.

The 36-year-old would make just two more appearances for the Cherry & Whites after this game at the Camp Nou however, granted a release from the last 18 months of his contract in June 2019 following a drink-driving conviction and opting to hang up his boots. Tautai returned home to Australia and is now 36. If anyone knows what he’s up to now, let us know!

Joe Bullock (Interchange)

Rounding off the matchday 17 for Wigan in Barcelona was Bullock, who re-joined Wigan in 2019 from Barrow having come through the Warriors’ academy but departed the club before making a senior appearance. The Blackpool-born prop went on to make 59 appearances over the course of three seasons prior to joining Warrington in 2022.

With his 32nd birthday approaching later this year, Bullock remains with the Wolves and recently penned a new deal, but is not regularly involved under Burgess having appeared for both Hull FC & Widnes already this year on loan and dual-registration respectively. He needs just five more appearances to reach the milestone of 250 in his career.

Head coach: Adrian Lam

Papua New Guinean Lam lifted the Challenge Cup in 2002 during his time donning the Wigan shirt as a player, named in the Super League Dream Team three seasons running. He returned in 2019 as interim head coach, later taking the position on a permanent basis after Shaun Edwards’ u-turn, and guided them to the League Leaders’ Shield in 2020.

The 53-year-old lost the Grand Final to rivals Saints that year, and departed at the end of the following season. Taking charge of neighbours Leigh, he led the Leopards to Challenge Cup glory last term as Super League new boys. Lam is also one of Mal Meninga’s assistants with the Kangaroos on the international scene.

Catalans Dragons’ line-up from the Camp Nou in 2019

Starting 13: Tony Gigot, Fouad Yaha, David Mead, Brayden Williame, Lewis Tierney, Samisoni Langi, Greg Bird, Julian Bousquet, Micky McIlorum, Sam Moa, Kenny Edwards, Matt Whitley, Remi Casty

Interchanges: Ben Garcia, Mickael Simon, Jason Baitieri, Sam Kasiano

Head coach: Steve McNamara