In a year’s time the Rugby World Cup 2023 will begin in France and once again we’ll be treated to the spectacle that is the 20 competing nations battling it out to hoist the Webb Ellis Cup and be crowned the greatest on the planet.
At the same time, we’re also guaranteed to experience some iconic moments that we’ll no doubt look back on in years to come as truly special happenings in Rugby World Cup history. Often these moments are when records are broken, and with today’s exceptional talents in the game, we may well see some records being smashed during the tournament.
So to build up some anticipation for this, here’s a selection of some the all-time record holders in the Rugby World Cup that might need to be updated come October 2023.
Most tournament titles
At present, the honour for most tournament titles is shared by South Africa and New Zealand, who have three each respectively. With both the Springboks and All Blacks involved next year there’s every chance we could finally have a frontrunner.
Most player points in a tournament
The current record holder for the most player points scored in Rugby World Cup history is England’s Jonny Wilkinson, who over four tournaments (1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 respectively) has amassed 277 points in 19 appearances.
Most player points in a single tournament
We have to go all the way back to 1987 for this record, as this was when New Zealand’s Grant Fox scored a mighty 126 points in the inaugural competition. The closest anyone has come since then was once again Jonny Wilkinson who scored 113 points in 2003.
Most tries in a match
New Zealand’s Marc Ellis’ incredible six tries against Japan in the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa is still the most anyone has ever scored in a single tournament match.
Most conversions in a match
It was in this same game in 1995 that another record was set – which has also yet to be broken – by New Zealand’s Simon Culhane who made 20 conversions against Japan. This is another record that hasn’t really been challenged since, the closest anyone has come is Australia’s Mat Rogers against Namibia in 2003.
Most drop goals in a tournament
Another record currently held by Jonny Wilkinson is the most drop goals in a single tournament. Unsurprisingly, this was also in the 2003 competition which featured the famous late drop goal win by Wilkinson for England in the final against Australia.