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.
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. [1]
Ten current or retired members of the Ireland team have earned 100 or more test caps. Ireland's all-time cap leaders are Cian Healy and Brian O'Driscoll with 133. The active player with the most caps is Cian Healy with 133 caps, followed by Conor Murray with 119 caps. [2]
These figures do not include caps for the Lions. When those are included, O'Driscoll has 141 international caps, O'Gara has 130, and Conor Murray has 127, Sexton has 124 caps. [3]
# | Player | Career Span | Caps | Tries | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cian Healy | 2009– | 133 | 12 | 60 |
Brian O'Driscoll | 1999–2014 | 133 | 46 | 245 | |
3 | Ronan O'Gara | 2000–2013 | 128 | 16 | 1083 |
4 | Rory Best | 2005–2019 | 124 | 12 | 60 |
5 | Conor Murray | 2011– | 119 | 18 | 115 |
6 | Johnny Sexton | 2009–2023 | 118 | 18 | 1108 |
7 | Peter O'Mahony | 2012– | 109 | 5 | 25 |
8 | Paul O'Connell | 2002–2015 | 108 | 8 | 40 |
9 | John Hayes | 2000–2011 | 105 | 2 | 10 |
10 | Keith Earls | 2008–2023 | 101 | 36 | 180 |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Ireland's record try scorer is Brian O'Driscoll, who notched 46 career tries, [4] which ranks him eighth in international tries.
# | Player | Career Span | Tries | Caps | Ave. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian O'Driscoll | 1999–2014 | 46 | 133 | 0.35 |
2 | Keith Earls | 2008–2023 | 36 | 101 | 0.36 |
3 | Tommy Bowe | 2004–2017 | 30 | 69 | 0.43 |
4 | Denis Hickie | 1997–2007 | 29 | 62 | 0.47 |
5 | Shane Horgan | 2000–2009 | 21 | 65 | 0.32 |
6 | Girvan Dempsey | 1998–2008 | 19 | 82 | 0.23 |
Jacob Stockdale | 2017– | 19 | 37 | 0.51 | |
8 | Geordan Murphy | 2000–2011 | 18 | 72 | 0.25 |
Conor Murray | 2011– | 18 | 119 | 0.15 | |
Johnny Sexton | 2009–2023 | 18 | 118 | 0.15 | |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Johnny Sexton holds the Ireland record for test points with 1,101, [5] placing him fourth all-time in international rugby union. Johnny Sexton is the highest points scorers in the Six Nations with 566 points, followed by Ronan O'Gara with 557. [6] [7]
# | Player | Career span | Points | Caps | Tries | Con. | Pen. | DG | Ave. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Johnny Sexton | 2009–2023 | 1,108 | 118 | 18 | 182 | 214 | 4 | 9.39 |
2 | Ronan O'Gara | 2000–2013 | 1,083 | 128 | 16 | 176 | 202 | 15 | 8.46 |
3 | David Humphreys | 1996–2005 | 560 | 72 | 6 | 88 | 110 | 8 | 7.78 |
4 | Michael Kiernan | 1982–1991 | 308 | 43 | 6 | 40 | 62 | 6 | 7.16 |
5 | Eric Elwood | 1993–1999 | 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 | 1976–1984 | 217 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 54 | 7 | 9.86 |
8 | Paddy Jackson | 2013–2017 | 195 | 25 | 2 | 46 | 30 | 1 | 7.8 |
9 | Keith Earls | 2008–2023 | 180 | 101 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.78 |
10 | Joey Carbery | 2016–2022 | 164 | 37 | 2 | 56 | 14 | 0 | 4.43 |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Brian O'Driscoll is third on the all-time list for test matches as captain. He has captained Ireland 83 times and the Lions once. [8]
# | Player | Span | Captaincies | Caps | Wins | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian O'Driscoll | 2002–2012 | 83 | 133 | 52 | 62.65% |
2 | Rory Best | 2009–2019 | 38 | 124 | 24 | 63.16% |
3 | Keith Wood | 1996–2003 | 36 | 58 | 15 | 41.67% |
4 | Johnny Sexton | 2019–2023 | 30 | 118 | 25 | 83.33% |
5 | Paul O'Connell | 2004–2015 | 28 | 108 | 18 | 64.29% |
6 | Tom Kiernan | 1963–1973 | 24 | 54 | 16 | 66.67% |
7 | Ciarán Fitzgerald | 1982–1986 | 19 | 25 | 9 | 47.37% |
8 | Dónal Lenihan | 1986–1990 | 17 | 52 | 8 | 47.06% |
Fergus Slattery | 1979–1981 | 17 | 61 | 5 | 29.41% | |
10 | Michael Bradley | 1992–1995 | 15 | 40 | 5 | 33.33% |
William Crawford | 1924–1927 | 15 | 30 | 11 | 73.33% | |
Karl Mullen | 1947–1952 | 15 | 25 | 10 | 66.67% | |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2] [9]
# | Player | Pos | Pts | Tries | Con | Pen | DG | Result | Opposition | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 32 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 40–14 | Samoa | 20 June 2003 |
2 | Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 30 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 60–13 | Italy | 4 March 2000 |
3 | David Humphreys | Fly-half | 26 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 36–6 | Scotland | 16 February 2003 |
David Humphreys | Fly-half | 26 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 61–6 | Italy | 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 | Italy | 4 January 1997 |
David Humphreys | Fly-half | 24 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 24–28 | Argentina | 20 October 1999 | |
Johnny Sexton | Fly-half | 24 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 82–8 | Romania | 9 September 2023 | |
9 | Ralph Keyes | Fly-half | 23 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 55–11 | Zimbabwe | 6 October 1991 |
Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | 23 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 78–9 | Japan | 11 November 2000 |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Tries | Player | Position | Result | Opposition | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Brian Robinson | Number 8 | 55–11 | Zimbabwe | 6 October 1991 |
Keith Wood | Hooker | 53–8 | United States | 2 October 1999 | |
Denis Hickie | Wing | 61–6 | Italy | 30 August 2003 | |
Rónan Kelleher | Hooker | 71–10 | United States | 10 July 2021 | |
3 | (Several players tied) |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
# | Player | Age | DOB | Debut | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Frank Hewitt | 17 years 157 days | 3 October 1906 | 8 March 1924 | Wales |
2 | John Quirke | 17 years 229 days | 26 June 1944 | 10 February 1962 | England |
3 | George McAllan | 18 years 13 days | 2 February 1878 | 15 February 1896 | Scotland |
4 | Edmund Forrest | 18 years 57 days | 5 October 1870 | 1 December 1888 | N.Z. Natives |
5 | Aidan Bailey | 18 years 68 days | 1 January 1916 | 10 March 1934 | Wales |
6 | George Stephenson | 18 years 103 days | 22 December 1901 | 3 April 1920 | France |
7 | David Hewitt | 18 years 131 days | 9 September 1939 | 18 January 1958 | Australia |
8 | Frederick Harvey | 18 years 189 days | 1 September 1888 | 9 March 1907 | Wales |
9 | Dickie Lloyd | 18 years 192 days | 4 August 1891 | 12 February 1910 | England |
10 | Jasper Brett | 18 years 218 days | 8 August 1895 | 14 March 1914 | Wales |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
# | Player | Age | DOB | Last Match | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Johnny Sexton | 38 years 92 days | 11 July 1985 | 14 October 2023 | New Zealand |
2 | John Hayes | 37 years 277 days | 2 November 1973 | 6 August 2011 | Scotland |
3 | Rory Best | 37 years 65 days | 15 August 1982 | 19 October 2019 | New Zealand |
4 | Cian Healy | 37 years 39 days | 7 October 1987 | 15 November 2024 | Argentina |
5 | Mike Gibson | 36 years 195 days | 3 December 1942 | 16 June 1979 | Australia |
6 | Mike Ross | 36 years 187 days | 21 December 1979 | 25 June 2016 | South Africa |
7 | Phil Orr | 36 years 175 days | 14 December 1950 | 7 June 1987 | Australia |
8 | Peter Clohessy | 36 years 15 days | 22 March 1966 | 6 April 2002 | France |
9 | Paul O'Connell | 35 years 356 days | 20 October 1979 | 12 October 2015 | France |
10 | Ronan O'Gara | 35 years 354 days | 7 March 1977 | 24 February 2013 | Scotland |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Margin | Date | Game | Ground |
---|---|---|---|
80 | 10 June 2000 | United States 3–83 Ireland | Singer Family Park, Manchester, New Hampshire, US |
74 | 9 September 2023 | Ireland 82–8 Romania | Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France |
70 | 14 November 1998 | Ireland 70–0 Georgia | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
69 | 11 November 2000 | Ireland 78–9 Japan | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
61 | 10 July 2021 | Ireland 71–10 United States | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
60 | 1 November 1986 | Ireland 60–0 Romania | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
57 | 19 October 2003 | Ireland 64–7 Namibia | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia |
55 | 6 November 2021 | Ireland 60–5 Japan | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
8 November 2008 | Ireland 55–0 Canada | Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland | |
30 August 2003 | Ireland 61–6 Italy | Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
Margin | Date | Game | Ground |
---|---|---|---|
60 | 23 June 2012 | New Zealand 60–0 Ireland | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand |
53 | 6 June 1992 | New Zealand 59–6 Ireland | Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand |
48 | 15 November 1997 | Ireland 15–63 New Zealand | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
42 | 24 August 2019 | England 57–15 Ireland | Twickenham, London, England |
40 | 15 February 1997 | Ireland 6–46 England | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
39 | 6 April 2002 | France 44–5 Ireland | Stade de France, Paris, France |
38 | 12 June 2010 | New Zealand 66–28 Ireland | Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, New Zealand |
12 November 2005 | Ireland 7–45 New Zealand | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
30 November 1912 | Ireland 0–38 South Africa | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | |
36 | 30 March 2003 | Ireland 6–42 England | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
Last updated: Ireland vs Argentina, 15 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [2]
The Namibia national rugby union team represents Namibia in men's international rugby union competitions nicknamed the Welwitschias, are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in seven Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999. They are governed by the Namibia Rugby Union.
The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos, represents Georgia in men's international rugby union. The team is administered by the Georgian Rugby Union and takes part in the annual Rugby Europe Championship and the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
The Argentina national rugby union team represents Argentina in men's international competitions, The Argentine Rugby Union. Officially nicknamed Los Pumas, they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 5th in the world by World Rugby, making them by some distance the highest-ranked nation in the Americas.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The Italy national rugby union team represents the Italian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
Ronan John Ross O'Gara is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He is currently head coach of La Rochelle in the French Top 14.
The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having won gold at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.
The Ireland and South Africa rugby union teams have a rivalry dating back to 1906. The Springboks of South Africa dominated their early meetings, with the Irish winning just once against South Africa prior to 2004, but results have since turned in Ireland's favour. Ireland have won nine of the last fourteen test matches since they met during the 2004 Autumn internationals. Following Ireland's tour win over New Zealand in 2022, South Africa are the only major Southern Hemisphere team over which Ireland has not achieved a series victory, although in 2024 the two sides shared a series in South Africa 1-1.
The Canada men's national rugby union team represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
The Uruguay national rugby union team, nicknamed Los Teros, represents the Uruguayan Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. One of the older test sides in the world, Uruguay has qualified five times for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019 and most recently 2023. As of 10 July 2023 they are ranked 17th in the world, and are ranked 2nd in the Americas region, behind rivals Argentina.
Cian Eoin James Healy is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and French side Racing 92.
This article is a list of statistics from the Ireland rugby union team's 34 international tours. The article also includes details of the Ireland Wolfhounds' and Developmental sides' three international tours.
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road or Dublin Arena, is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators. It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and replaced it as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through. Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009, and subsequently extended the arrangement until 2025.
The history of rugby union matches between Argentina and Ireland is one of a very even contest and significant mutual rivalry, a rivalry increased by a series of notable meetings at the Rugby World Cup.
The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
These are men's player records in international rugby, updated at the conclusion of the Autumn internationals window each year.