List of Ireland national rugby union team records
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in international rugby union and plays in the Six Nations Championship and Rugby World Cup.
- Of the players known to have earned 80 or more Test caps, ten are current or retired members of the Ireland team. Four of these players have also crossed the 100-cap mark for Ireland. Ireland's all-time caps leader is Brian O'Driscoll with 133. The second most-capped player is Ronan O'Gara with 128. Ireland's third most capped player is current captain Rory Best, with 111. Paul O'Connell currently has 108 since retiring in 2015. John Hayes, won 105 caps before retiring from rugby in December 2011. Following him are Peter Stringer, who has won 98 caps, and Jamie Heaslip, who has won 95 caps. Donncha O'Callaghan won 94 caps in his Ireland career, whilst Malcolm O'Kelly won 92 caps. Rob Kearney has currently 86 caps.[1]
- These figures do not include caps for the Lions. When those are included, O'Driscoll has a total of 142 international caps. O'Gara has 130, O'Connell has 113, Hayes has 107, Heaslip has 100, and O'Callaghan has 98.[2]
- O'Gara holds the Ireland record for Test points with 1,083,[3] placing him fourth all-time in international rugby union and making him one of only five players to have reached the 1,000 points mark. Jonathan Sexton (714), David Humphreys (560), Michael Kiernan (308) and Eric Elwood (296) complete the top 5 Irish points scorers.
- O'Gara is also the highest points scorer in the Six Nations with 557 points. Jonny Wilkinson is second with 546, and Stephen Jones is third with 467.[4]
- Ireland's record try scorer is O'Driscoll, who has 46 tries in his 133 appearances.[5] Tommy Bowe (30), Denis Hickie (29), Keith Earls (27) and Shane Horgan (21) complete the top 5 Irish try scorers.
- O'Driscoll is also second on the all-time list for Test matches as captain. He has captained Ireland 83 times and the Lions once.[6]
- Keith Wood currently holds the world rugby union record for most International Test tries scored by a hooker, which is 15.
- Thomas Gisborne Gordon, who played for Ireland between 1877–78, is the only one handed player to have competed in international rugby of either code.[7]
Career
Most caps
# | Player | Career Span | Caps | Tries | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian O'Driscoll | 1999–2014 | 133 | 46 | 245 |
2 | Ronan O'Gara | 2000–13 | 128 | 16 | 1083 |
3 | Rory Best | 2005– | 111 | 9 | 45 |
4 | Paul O'Connell | 2002–15 | 108 | 8 | 40 |
5 | John Hayes | 2000–11 | 105 | 2 | 10 |
6 | Peter Stringer | 2000–11 | 98 | 6 | 30 |
7 | Jamie Heaslip | 2006–17 | 95 | 13 | 65 |
8 | Donncha O'Callaghan | 2003–13 | 94 | 1 | 5 |
9 | Malcolm O'Kelly | 1997–2009 | 92 | 8 | 40 |
10 | Rob Kearney | 2007- | 86 | 13 | 67 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Most tries
# | Player | Career Span | Tries | Caps | Ave. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian O'Driscoll | 1999–2014 | 46 | 133 | 0.35 |
2 | Tommy Bowe | 2004–17 | 30 | 69 | 0.44 |
3 | Denis Hickie | 1997–2007 | 29 | 62 | 0.47 |
4 | Keith Earls | 2008– | 27 | 70 | 0.39 |
5 | Shane Horgan | 2000–09 | 21 | 65 | 0.32 |
6 | Girvan Dempsey | 1998–2008 | 19 | 82 | 0.23 |
7 | Geordan Murphy | 2000–11 | 18 | 72 | 0.25 |
8 | Brendan Mullin | 1984–95 | 17 | 55 | 0.31 |
Andrew Trimble | 2005-17 | 17 | 69 | 0.25 | |
10 | Ronan O'Gara | 2000–13 | 16 | 128 | 0.13 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Most points
# | Player | Career span | Points | Caps | Tries | Con. | Pen. | DG | Ave. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ronan O'Gara | 2000–13 | 1083 | 128 | 16 | 176 | 202 | 15 | 8.46 |
2 | Jonathan Sexton | 2009- | 714 | 76 | 9 | 90 | 159 | 4 | 9.39 |
3 | David Humphreys | 1996–2005 | 560 | 72 | 6 | 88 | 110 | 8 | 7.78 |
4 | Michael Kiernan | 1982–91 | 308 | 43 | 6 | 40 | 62 | 6 | 7.16 |
5 | Eric Elwood | 1993–99 | 296 | 35 | 0 | 43 | 68 | 2 | 8.46 |
6 | Brian O'Driscoll | 1999–2014 | 245 | 133 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1.84 |
7 | Ollie Campbell | 1976–84 | 217 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 54 | 7 | 9.86 |
8 | Paddy Jackson | 2013-17 | 166 | 21 | 2 | 36 | 27 | 1 | 7.90 |
9 | Tom Kiernan | 1960–73 | 158 | 54 | 2 | 26 | 31 | 2 | 2.93 |
10 | Tommy Bowe | 2004–17 | 150 | 68 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.21 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Most matches as captain
# | Player | Span | Captaincies | Total caps | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian O'Driscoll | 2002–12 | 83 | 131 | 62.65% |
2 | Keith Wood | 1996–2003 | 36 | 58 | 41.67% |
3 | Paul O'Connell | 2004–15 | 28 | 108 | 62.50% |
4 | Rory Best | 2009- | 26 | 111 | 67.30% |
5 | Tom Kiernan | 1963–73 | 24 | 54 | 58.33% |
6 | Ciaran Fitzgerald | 1982–86 | 19 | 25 | 47.37% |
7 | Donal Lenihan | 1986–90 | 17 | 52 | 47.05% |
Fergus Slattery | 1979–81 | 17 | 61 | 29.41% | |
9 | Michael Bradley | 1999–2003 | 15 | 40 | 33.33% |
William Crawford | 1924–27 | 15 | 30 | 66.67% | |
Karl Mullen | 1947-52 | 15 | 25 | 66.67% | |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Single match
Most points in a match
# | Player | Pos | Pts | Tries | Con | Pen | DG | Result | Opposition | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 32 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 40–14 | 20 June 2003 | |
2 | Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 30 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 60–13 | 4 March 2000 | |
3 | David Humphreys | Fly-half | 26 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 36–6 | 16 February 2003 | |
David Humphreys | Fly-half | 26 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 61–6 | 30 August 2003 | ||
Paddy Wallace | Fly-half | 26 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 61–17 | Pacific Islanders | 26 November 2006 | |
6 | Paul Burke | Fly-half | 24 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 29–37 | 4 January 1997 | |
David Humphreys | Fly-half | 24 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 24–28 | 20 October 1999 | ||
8 | Ralph Keyes | Fly-half | 23 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 55–11 | 6 October 1991 | |
Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 23 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 78–9 | 11 November 2000 | ||
10 | David Humphreys | Fly-half | 22 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 54–10 | 3 February 2002 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Most tries in a match
Tries | Player | Position | Result | Opposition | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Brian Robinson | Number 8 | 55–11 | 6 October 1991 | |
Keith Wood | Hooker | 53–8 | 2 October 1999 | ||
Denis Hickie | Wing | 61–6 | 30 August 2003 | ||
3 | Robert Montgomery | Three Quarters | 0G-1G | 12 March 1887 | |
Joseph Quinn | Wing | 24–0 | 24 March 1913 | ||
Eugene Davy | Wing | 14–11 | 22 February 1930 | ||
Seamus Byrne | Wing | 26–8 | 28 February 1953 | ||
Keith Crossan | Wing | 60–0 | 1 November 1986 | ||
Brendan Mullin | Centre | 32–9 | 3 June 1987 | ||
Matt Mostyn | Wing | 32–24 | 28 August 1999 | ||
Brian O'Driscoll | Centre | 27–25 | 19 March 2000 | ||
Mike Mullins | Centre | 83–3 | 10 June 2000 | ||
Denis Hickie | Wing | 78–9 | 11 November 2000 | ||
Rob Henderson | Centre | 41–22 | 3 February 2001 | ||
Brian O'Driscoll | Centre | 43–22 | 2 March 2002 | ||
Kevin Maggs | Centre | 64–17 | 17 November 2002 | ||
Fergus McFadden | Wing | 40–14 | 15 June 2013 | ||
Craig Gilroy | Wing | 63–10 | 11 February 2017 | ||
CJ Stander | Flanker | 63–10 | 11 February 2017 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Player age
Youngest players
# | Player | Age | DOB | Debut | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Frank Hewitt | 17 years 157 days | 3 October 1906 | 8 March 1924 | |
2. | John Quirke | 17 years 229 days | 26 June 1944 | 10 February 1962 | |
3. | George McAllan | 18 years 13 days | 2 February 1878 | 15 February 1896 | |
4. | Edmund Forrest | 18 years 57 days | 5 October 1870 | 1 December 1888 | |
5. | Aidan Bailey | 18 years 68 days | 1 January 1916 | 10 March 1934 | |
6. | George Stephenson | 18 years 103 days | 22 December 1901 | 3 April 1920 | |
7. | Dave Hewitt | 18 years 131 days | 9 September 1939 | 18 January 1958 | |
8. | Frederick Harvey | 18 years 189 days | 1 September 1888 | 9 March 1907 | |
9. | Dickie Lloyd | 18 years 192 days | 4 August 1891 | 12 February 1910 | |
10. | Jasper Brett | 18 years 218 days | 8 August 1895 | 14 March 1914 |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Oldest players
# | Player | Age | DOB | Last Match | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | John Hayes | 37 years 277 days | 2 November 1973 | 6 August 2011 | |
2. | Mike Gibson | 36 years 195 days | 3 December 1942 | 16 June 1979 | |
3. | Mike Ross | 36 years 187 days | 21 December 1979 | 25 June 2016 | |
4. | Phil Orr | 36 years 175 days | 14 December 1950 | 7 June 1987 | |
5. | Peter Clohessy | 36 years 15 days | 22 March 1966 | 6 April 2002 | |
6. | Paul O'Connell | 35 years 356 days | 20 October 1979 | 12 October 2015 | |
7. | Ronan O'Gara | 35 years 354 days | 7 March 1977 | 24 February 2013 | |
8. | Syd Millar | 35 years 295 days | 23 May 1934 | 14 March 1970 | |
9. | Moss Keane | 35 years 220 days | 27 July 1948 | 3 March 1984 | |
10. | Eoin Reddan | 35 yrs 218 days | 20 November 1980 | 25 June 2016 | |
Last updated: Australia vs Ireland, 23 June 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Team margins
Biggest winning margin
Margin | Date | Game | Ground |
---|---|---|---|
80 | 10 June 2000 | Singer Family Park, Manchester, New Hampshire, US | |
70 | 14 November 1998 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
69 | 11 November 2000 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
60 | 1 November 1986 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
57 | 19 October 2003 | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia | |
55 | 8 November 2008 | Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland | |
55 | 30 August 2003 | Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland | |
53 | 11 February 2017 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy | |
50 | 25 September 2011 | Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua, New Zealand | |
49 | 20 November 2004 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
Last updated: Ireland v Italy, 11 February 2017. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
Biggest losing margin
Margin | Date | Game | Ground |
---|---|---|---|
60 | 23 June 2012 | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand | |
53 | 6 June 1992 | Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand | |
48 | 15 November 1997 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
40 | 15 February 1997 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
39 | 6 April 2002 | Stade de France, Paris, France | |
38 | 12 June 2010 | Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, New Zealand | |
38 | 12 November 2005 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
38 | 30 November 1912 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
36 | 30 March 2003 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
36 | 12 June 1999 | Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane, Australia |
Last updated: Ireland v Scotland, 4 February 2017. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Ireland Squad | Profiles : Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ↑ "International Matches Record List". stats.espnscrum.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ↑ "ESPNScrum Stasguru Overall Points Record". espnscrum.com. 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ↑ "Six Nations: Total Points Scored". stats.espnscrum.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ↑ "Ireland Squad | Profiles : Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ↑ "Statsguru / Player analysis / Brian O'Driscoll / Test matches (filter: as captain)". Scrum.com. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ↑ "Thomas Gordon Profile". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.