England rugby union try record progression

Last updated

Cyril Lowe, England's record try scorer from 1920 to 1989, tackled by Dedet in 1913 vs France CyrileLoweJacquesDedet.png
Cyril Lowe, England's record try scorer from 1920 to 1989, tackled by Dedet in 1913 vs France

The England rugby union try record progression charts the record number of tries scored for the England national rugby union team by individual players, or rugby footballers as they are still sometimes referred to.

Contents

Early years

The progression begins with Reg Birkett's try, scored in the first international rugby match of any code in 1871 when England succumbed to Scotland at Raeburn Place. When Birkett's try was scored, it was not worth any points in itself, but rather afforded the opportunity of the scoring side to kick a goal, or a "try at goal", which England failed to convert. Birkett, who also played association football for England, was for a short time during the match the joint international record holder as well, matching Angus Buchanan's earlier effort for Scotland. [1] Despite the record being but a single try, Birkett's mark of one try for England stood for almost six years, although this equated at the time to just ten matches. In that time, at least a further eleven players matched the feat of scoring a try for England before William Hutchinson scored his second try of the match and his career in the eleventh England match on 5 February 1877. [2] Hutchinson set a mark that was to last for exactly four years when Henry Taylor, who had already equalled the record, scored three times against Ireland on 5 February 1881. Taylor played in the same side as another prolific scorer of tries, George Burton. Burton equalled the mark of five tries in England's comprehensive victory over Wales in the latter's first international. In that match, on 19 February 1881, of the thirteen tries scored, Taylor scored once but Burton scored four times, which was in itself a record haul for one match that was to last until 1907. [3] The tries scored in this match brought both players to six apiece, but as to which of these players reached that mark first is unclear. It was not until 1885 that another pairing of prolific try scorers, Wilfred Bolton and Charles Wade, both equalled the haul of six tries. Wade went on to hold the record outright for over fifteen years after he scored his seventh try on 2 January 1886 against Wales. It was Tot Robinson that was to break this record on 9 March 1901 with his mark of eight tries and no one challenged this until Arthur Hudson equalled and then broke it at Parc des Princes when England defeated France on 3 March 1910. For the third time, England was fielding a pairing of prolific try scorers, and alongside Hudson was John Birkett. John Birkett was the son of England's first try scorer, Reg Birkett and had scored the first try at Twickenham Stadium. He went on to set the England record with ten tries on 8 April 1912.

Lowe's sixty-seven year record

As Birkett's career finished, the young winger, Cyril Lowe, began his. Lowe was selected to play for England whilst still at university in 1913 and despite a six-year break due to the First World War when he flew as a fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, returned to international duty and resumed scoring tries. Lowe scored eighteen times in twenty four appearances, and set the record for the most tries scored in a single Five Nations Championship when he scored eight in 1914, a record only matched by Ian Smith of Scotland, and never surpassed, even in the Six Nations era with its greater number of matches. Despite living until the age of 91, Lowe's mark of eighteen tries, set on 10 February 1923, outlasted him and was not broken until another RAF fighter pilot, Rory Underwood, scored his nineteenth try almost sixty-seven years later on 20 January 1990. Underwood had taken thirty-eight matches to reach this mark, compared to Lowe's twenty-four. Before Lowe, other try scorers had had better scoring ratios, amongst them record holders Burton scoring six in six, Wade seven in eight, Tot Robinson eight in eight, and Hudson, nine in eight. Daniel Lambert had also scored eight tries in a career of seven appearances. [4] Lowe's achievement has been singled out as being all the more remarkable due to the almost six year pause in the middle of his career.

Underwood's unchallenged record

Underwood went on to score thirty more tries for England over a career spanning twelve years and eighty-five matches, eventually setting a mark of forty-nine tries. He also scored once for the British Lions, bringing his career total of international tries to fifty. Lowe's total of eighteen has been surpassed by a further six players, all playing in an era of many more internationals, and when tries are worth more points relative to other scoring methods and therefore where there is more emphasis on scoring tries. Underwood's mark, however, has never been challenged, the next closest for England being Will Greenwood and Ben Cohen on 31 each.

International tries

Try recordPlayerOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultReferences
/Notes
1 Reg Birkett Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Raeburn Place Home nations friendly 27 March 1871Lost [4]
Francis d'Aguilar Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1872Won [4]
Stephen Finney Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1872Won [4]
Alfred St. George Hamersley Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1872Won [4]
Ernest Cheston IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 15 February 1875Won [4]
Arthur Michell IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 15 February 1875Won [4]
Charles Clark IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Leinster Cricket Ground Home nations friendly 13 December 1875Won [4]
Edward Kewley IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Leinster Cricket Ground Home nations friendly 13 December 1875Won [4]
William Collins Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 6 March 1876Won [4]
Frederic Lee Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 6 March 1876Won [4]
William Hutchinson IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1877Won [4] [5]
Monkey Hornby IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1877Won [4]
Frank Reginald Adams IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1877Won [2] [4]
2 William Hutchinson IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 5 February 1877Won [4] [5]
Frank Reginald Adams IRFU flag.svg  Ireland London, England Kennington Oval Home nations friendly 24 March 1879Won [2] [4]
George Burton Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Manchester, England Whalley Range Home nations friendly 28 February 1880Won [4]
Henry Taylor Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Manchester, England Whalley Range Home nations friendly 28 February 1880Won [4] [6]
3IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Manchester, England Whalley Range 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 5 February 1881Won [4] [6]
4IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Manchester, England Whalley Range 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 5 February 1881Won [4]
5IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Manchester, England Whalley Range 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 5 February 1881Won [4]
George Burton Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales London, England Richardson's Field, Blackheath 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 19 February 1881Won [4] [7]
6 Henry Taylor Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales London, England Richardson's Field, Blackheath 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 19 February 1881Won [4] [7]
George Burton Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales London, England Richardson's Field, Blackheath 1880–81 Home Nations rugby union matches 19 February 1881Won [4] [7]
Charles Wade Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Swansea, Wales St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground Home Nations Championship 3 January 1885Won [4]
Wilfred Bolton IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Manchester, England Whalley Range Home Nations Championship 7 February 1885Won [4]
7 Charles Wade Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales London, England Rectory Field, Blackheath Home Nations Championship 2 January 1886Won [4]
Tot Robinson IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Lansdowne Road Home Nations Championship 9 February 1901Lost [4]
8Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Rectory Field, Blackheath Home Nations Championship 9 March 1901Lost [4]
Arthur Hudson Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Five Nations Championship 3 March 1910Won [4]
9Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Five Nations Championship 3 March 1910Won [4]
John Birkett IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 10 February 1912Won [4]
10Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Five Nations Championship 8 April 1912Won [4]
Cyril Lowe Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 20 March 1920Won [4]
11Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 15 January 1921Won [4]
12IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 12 February 1921Won [4]
13Flag of France.svg  France Colombes near Paris, France Stade du Matin Five Nations Championship 28 March 1921Won [4]
14Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Cardiff, Wales Cardiff Arms Park Five Nations Championship 21 January 1922Lost [4]
15IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Lansdowne Road Five Nations Championship 11 February 1922Won [4]
16Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 18 March 1922Won [4]
17Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 18 March 1922Won [4]
18IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Leicester, England Welford Road Stadium Five Nations Championship 10 February 1923Won [4]
Rory Underwood Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji Twickenham, England Twickenham Test match (1989 Fiji rugby union tour of Europe) 4 November 1989won [4]
19IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 20 January 1990won [4]
20Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Five Nations Championship 3 February 1990won [4]
21Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 17 February 1990won [4]
22Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 17 February 1990won [4]
23Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Twickenham, England Twickenham Test match (1990 Argentina rugby union tour of British Isles) 3 November 1990won [4]
24Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Twickenham, England Twickenham Test match (1990 Argentina rugby union tour of British Isles) 3 November 1990won [4]
25Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Twickenham, England Twickenham Test match (1990 Argentina rugby union tour of British Isles) 3 November 1990won [4]
26IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Lansdowne Road Five Nations Championship 2 March 1991won [4]
27Flag of France.svg  France Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 16 March 1991won [4]
28Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji Suva, Fiji National Stadium, Suva Summer Tour 20 July 1991won [4]
29Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Twickenham, England Twickenham Rugby World Cup 8 October 1991won [4]
30Flag of the United States.svg  United States Twickenham, England Twickenham Rugby World Cup 11 October 1991won [4]
31Flag of the United States.svg  United States Twickenham, England Twickenham Rugby World Cup 11 October 1991won [4]
32Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Rugby World Cup 19 October 1991won [4]
33Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Five Nations Championship 18 January 1992won [4]
34IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 1 February 1992won [4]
35Flag of France.svg  France Paris, France Parc des Princes Five Nations Championship 15 February 1992won [4]
36Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 6 March 1993won [4]
37Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 19 March 1994won [4]
38Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Twickenham, England Twickenham Autumn Internationals 12 November 1994won [4]
39Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Twickenham, England Twickenham Test Match (1994 Canada rugby union tour of England and France) 10 December 1994won [4]
40Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Twickenham, England Twickenham Test Match (1994 Canada rugby union tour of England and France) 10 December 1994won [4]
41Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Cardiff, Wales Cardiff Arms Park Five Nations Championship 18 February 1995won [4]
42Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Cardiff, Wales Cardiff Arms Park Five Nations Championship 18 February 1995won [4]
43Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium Rugby World Cup 31 May 1995won [4]
44Flag of Samoa.svg  Western Samoa Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium Rugby World Cup 4 June 1995won [4]
45Flag of Samoa.svg  Western Samoa Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium Rugby World Cup 4 June 1995won [4]
46Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Cape Town, South Africa Newlands Stadium Rugby World Cup 18 June 1995lost [4]
47Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Cape Town, South Africa Newlands Stadium Rugby World Cup 18 June 1995lost [4]
48Flag of Samoa.svg  Western Samoa Twickenham, England Twickenham Test Match (1995 Western Samoa rugby union tour of Great Britain) 16 December 1995won [4]
49Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Twickenham, England Twickenham Five Nations Championship 3 February 1996won [4]

See also

Notes and references

  1. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN   1-905326-24-6, p37
  2. 1 2 3 It is not clear when Frank Reginald Adams scored his try on 5 February 1877. If it was before Hutchinson's second try then for a short time he equalled the try scoring record of just one try. One source, Francis Marshall's Football, The Rugby Union Game, does not acknowledge that Adams scored at all in February 1877. This would then put in doubt if his try on 24 March 1879 was his second or first for England.
  3. Barry Bowker, England Rugby - A History of the National Side, 1871-1978, p190, 1976 (Cassel Ltd)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 Espn scrum.com England player records
  5. 1 2 Hutchinson scored twice in the match on 5 February 1877
  6. 1 2 Taylor scored twice in the match on 28 February 1880
  7. 1 2 3 Burton scored four times in the match on 19 February 1881. If Burton scored three of his four tries before Taylor scored his try, then Burton equalled the then record of five tries, having already scored twice prior to the match. However, if Taylor scored before Burton for his third of the match, then Taylor would have extended his record to six tries, before Burton equalled the record. If Burton scored his fourth try before Taylor scored, then Burton would have set the new record of six tries, and Taylor would have equalled this record in the same match, if not then Burton would have equalled a new record set by Taylor.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonny Wilkinson</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.

Rory Underwood, is an English former rugby union player. He is England's record international try scorer, with 49 tries in 85 internationals between 1984 and 1996. Underwood's principal position was wing and he played 236 games for Leicester Tigers between 1983 and 1997, he also played for Middlesbrough, Bedford Blues and the Royal Air Force. Underwood toured with the British and Irish Lions in 1989 and 1993 playing in six tests and scoring one try. In 1992 Underwood played for England alongside his younger brother Tony Underwood, becoming the first brothers to play together for England since 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Lowe</span> British World War I flying ace and rugby union footballer

Cyril Nelson "Kid" Lowe, was an English rugby union footballer who held England's international try scoring record for over sixty years, a First World War flying ace credited with nine victories, and supposedly the inspiration for W. E. Johns' character "Biggles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Jenkins</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player and coach

Neil Jenkins, is a Welsh former rugby union player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the fifth highest on the List of leading rugby union test point scorers. He was the first player to score 1,000 points in international matches.

Daniel Darko Luger MBE is a former English rugby union international who was a member of the squad that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Paterson</span> Scotland international rugby union player

Christopher Douglas Paterson, MBE is an ambassador and specialist coach for the Scotland and Edinburgh rugby union teams. He is a former professional rugby union player who played for Scotland and, for the most part of his career, Edinburgh. Paterson is Scotland's record points scorer with 809 points and second most-capped player with 109 caps. He was capable of playing in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Andrew</span> British Lions & England international rugby union footballer & cricketer

Christopher Robert Andrew is a former English rugby union player who as a fly-half played 71 Tests for England between 1985 and 1997. Since his retirement from playing he has hold administration roles in both rugby and cricket. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and Professional Rugby Director at the RFU. He was Chief Executive of Sussex County Cricket Club before joining the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2024 as Managing Director of the professional game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Williams</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player

Shane Mark Williams, is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and is fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, Bryan Habana and David Campese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Habana</span> Rugby player

Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls and Western Province in South Africa, for the Bulls and the Stormers in Super Rugby, and for Toulon in the French Top 14, and won 124 caps for the South Africa national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ashton</span> England dual-code rugby international footballer

Christopher John Ashton is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fullback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Merritt</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Nathan Merritt is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played in the National Rugby League for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with whom he won the 2014 NRL Premiership, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Merritt has also played representative football for the City New South Wales, Indigenous All Stars and Prime Minister's XIII sides. A prolific try-scorer, he was the NRL's top try-scorer in 2006 and 2011, and in 2013 became the 9th player in the history of the League to score 150 tries.

Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club played variously on Clapham Common, Tooting Bec Common, and Wandsworth Common and wore a cerise and French-grey kit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Pritchard (rugby union)</span> Canada international rugby union & league player

James Gordon Pritchard is an Australian-Canadian professional rugby union and rugby league footballer, who currently plays his club rugby union for Ampthill in National League 1 following short spells with Old Albanian and Coventry. Pritchard is best known for his time with Bedford Blues, where he spent 12 seasons across two spells with the club, and he is the club's record points scorer with 2,883 points in all competitions, including 99 tries. He is also the RFU Championship all-time top points scorer with 2,673 points from 251 league and play-off games while playing for Bedford Blues and Plymouth Albion, as a fullback, wing or centre. Pritchard has played internationally for Canada, with whom he appeared in four Rugby World Cups, and is his countries all-time top points scorer with 607 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Smith (rugby union, born 1903)</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Ian Scott Smith was a rugby union wing who played 32 Tests for Scotland and two Tests for the British Isles. Born in Melbourne, Australia, and brought up in New Zealand, Smith moved to England and was educated at Winchester College, before studying at Oxford University and later Edinburgh University. At Oxford he took up rugby and was eventually selected for Scotland, for whom he was eligible because of his Scottish parents. He toured with the British Isles to South Africa in 1924, and played all four matches in Scotland's first ever Five Nations Grand Slam in 1925. He represented Scotland until 1933 when he captained them in their Triple Crown winning season. His 24 international tries, all scored in the Five Nations or Home Nations, was an international record until 1987 and a record for the Five/Six Nations until 2011. This record stood for 88 years until 2021, when it was broken by Stuart Hogg.

Reginald Halsey Birkett was an English footballer who played for Clapham Rovers, as well as the England national side. He also played international rugby union for England in 1871, in the first international rugby match. In this match he scored England's first try.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Wade</span> England international rugby union & American football player

Christian Wade is an English professional rugby union footballer, and former American football player, currently playing as a wing for Gloucester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George North</span> Wales and British Lions international rugby union player (born 1992)

George Philip North is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys. Born in England, he represents Wales at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

John Guy Giberne Birkett was an English international rugby union player who played for England between 1906 and 1912, and also captained the side on more than one occasion. He also has the distinction of scoring the first ever try at Twickenham Stadium, echoing the feat of his father who in 1871, in the first ever international rugby match scored England's first ever try.

William Hutchinson (1856–1880) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1876 to 1877.