How Peet’s Wigan conquered the rugby league world in 66 games

Peet’s meteoric rise: How did he make it to the top? Barely three seasons in charge at Wigan Warriors, and the four trophies on offer for Matt Peet have been won.

To put into context, it is like winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup Final in fewer than three seasons at one club. That is a feat only completed by Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, and Jurgen Klopp.

Peet’s rise to the top of the sport was very much an unconventional one, with the Wigan head coach having never played professional rugby league.

While experience on the pitch is often seen as a key tenet for head coaches across sport, Peet is the newest example that game knowledge and player management can be built from more than having played the sport at the highest level.

To understand the 39-year-old’s coaching career is to understand his connection to the town he grew up in.

A born-and-bred Wigan lad, Peet was raised in a family which had an obsession with Wigan Warriors and was raised to idolise the teams he watched at Central Park.

Coming from a northern rugby league town, Peet played the sport at amateur level, but once he realised a professional contract was not on the cards, he turned his attention elsewhere.

After completing an English degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, Peet began his coaching ascent.

Volunteer work at his local club Westhoughton Lions turned into helping with Wigan’s reserve side 13 years ago.

His hard work and passion for the job saw Peet move up the ranks at the Warriors, becoming the head of youth and, after a short move to rugby union with Sale Sharks as their head of performance, Peet returned to his boyhood club as assistant coach.

Four years later, he was at the golden gate: He was offered the job of head coach of Wigan Warriors…