Matt Peet has revealed how an ‘epic’ team talk from Sir Alex Ferguson inspired Wigan Warriors to complete their historic quadruple at Old Trafford.
The Wigan coach enlisted the legendary former Manchester United manager to present his players with their jerseys and deliver a speech on the eve of Saturday’s Super League Grand Final.
And Peet believes Fergie’s wise words helped the Warriors go on to beat Hull KR at the Scot’s old stomping ground, as they became the first side in the Super League era to claim all four trophies in the same campaign.
‘Sir Alex presented the jerseys and I can never thank him enough for that,’ said Peet. ‘We reached out through a mutual friend. We just thought we were on the verge of doing something similar to when United won the treble in 1999 and our challenge at the moment is continuing our success.
‘Obviously with playing at Old Trafford, and the fact Sir Alex led his career developing homegrown talent, we thought he would be the perfect person.
Wigan Warriors beat Hull Kingston Rovers 9-2 on Saturday to win Super League’s Grand Final
Wigan’s victory completed a famous quadruple after they had also won the World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield this season
Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (circled) presented Wigan’s players with their match shirts on the eve of Saturday’s game at Old Trafford
‘Fortunately, we could make that happen and he was epic, as you could imagine. We hung on every word, but it was more his presence. I have never seen the lads so quiet. With a leader like that, and how humble he was, you could hear a pin drop.’
Peet is a United supporter and told Mail Sport in an interview in 2022 that Ferguson is his coaching idol. The 40-year-old said he especially admires the way Ferguson was able to ‘sustain success’ – something he is now doing himself with Wigan.
In just three seasons in charge of the Warriors, Peet has already claimed seven major trophies, the four this year being the World Club Challenge in February, Challenge Cup in June, League Leaders’ Shield last month and now the Grand Final.
Peet, who is proving to be one of the best English bosses in any sport, should be a serious contender for the coaching award at December’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year show. And while the modest Wiganer will never take credit for the club’s glory, his players have no problem showering him with praise.
Scotsman Ferguson pictured (left) holding the Champions League trophy back in May 1999
Ferguson led United to a treble in 1999, when they also won the Premier League and FA Cup
Wigan head coach Matt Peet pictured (centre) holding the Super League trophy on Saturday
‘He has turned the club around in a short amount of time and deserves every bit of recognition and all the accolades that he can get,’ said Bevan French, who was given the Rob Burrow Award for player of the match after his stunning solo try in the first half.
‘You can name a number of things about him, but the very first thing he did was make it very clear he wanted to build a connection between the community and the club again.
‘He’s a great people person. It’s a team sport, but he gets everyone individually, on a personal level. He genuinely cares about every individual. That’s why everyone wants to work hard for him. It is a pleasure to play for someone like him.’
One example of how Peet, as well as Wigan’s chief executive Kris Radlinski, go the extra mile for their players was how they surprised French on the eve of the Grand Final by flying over his uncle and brother from Australia.
‘At the jersey presentation on Friday night, it goes in number order and mine was missed out,’ explained French. ‘I didn’t know what was going on. Then at the end, Matty said, “We’ve got a special guest to present you with your jersey”, so in came the boys. I was pretty emotional about it.’
The player of the match was Wigan’s Bevan French, pictured (centre) running with the ball
French scored the only try of the match with a spectacular solo effort in the 22nd minute
Peet is steeped in Wigan’s history, having watched them on the terraces as a child and then worked with them in various roles for the last 16 years.
Asked whether his team could now be talked about in the same breath as the all-conquering Warriors sides of the ’90s, he insisted: ‘No. It is nice to be asked and nice to be mentioned, but we have got a few years to go yet.
‘We just concentrate on what we can learn, how we can all improve, how we can connect deeper as a team with the town and community. Right at the start, it was all about those things.
‘I am really grateful we have had success off the back of that and won trophies, but our focus won’t change. It is all about how we can improve.’
