List of New Zealand national rugby union team player records

Last updated November 09, 2023

The New Zealand national rugby union team have competed since 1884, and there are a number of individual records achieved since that time. The team is also known as the All Blacks, and have competed in Test rugby since their match against Australia in 1903. The record for the most Test appearances for the All Blacks is held by Sam Whitelock — who has played 153 Test matches for the team. Richie McCaw was the first All Black to play over 100 Test matches; a record he achieved during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The record for most Test points by an All Black is held by Dan Carter, who scored 1598 points between 2003 and 2015. The record for the number of Test tries is held by Doug Howlett, who scored 49 tries in 62 matches between 2000 and 2007.

Most caps

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Won	Lost	Draw	Win %
1	Sam Whitelock	Lock	2010–2023	153	127	26	125	22	6	84%
2	Richie McCaw	Flanker	2001–2015	148	141	7	131	15	2	89%
3	Keven Mealamu	Hooker	2002–2015	132	77	55	114	16	2	87%
4	Kieran Read	Number 8	2008–2019	127	120	7	107	16	4	86%
5	Aaron Smith	Scrum-half	2012–2023	125	114	11	100	19	6	82%
6	Beauden Barrett	Fly-half	2012	123	83	40	101	18	4	84%
7	Tony Woodcock	Prop	2002–2015	118	105	13	102	15	1	87%
8	Dan Carter	Fly-half	2003–2015	112	106	6	99	12	1	89%
9	Brodie Retallick	Lock	2012–2023	109	94	15	92	13	4	86%
10	Owen Franks	Prop	2009–2019	108	98	10	91	13	4	86%

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[1]

Most tries

#	Player	Position	Career span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Tries/ Match
1	Doug Howlett	Wing	2000–2007	62	55	7	245	49	0.79
2	Julian Savea	Wing	2012–2017	54	51	3	230	46	0.85
3	Christian Cullen	Fullback	1996–2002	58	56	2	236	46	0.79
4	Joe Rokocoko	Wing	2003–2010	68	66	2	230	46	0.68
5	Jeff Wilson	Wing	1993–2001	60	60	0	234	44	0.73
6	Beauden Barrett	Fly-half	2012–2023	123	83	40	734	43	0.35
7	Ben Smith	Fullback	2009–2019	84	72	12	195	39	0.46
8	Jonah Lomu	Wing	1994–2002	63	54	9	185	37	0.59
9	Rieko Ioane	Centre	2016–	69	59	10	180	36	0.52
10	Tana Umaga	Centre	1997–2005	74	73	1	180	36	0.49

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[2]

Most points

#	Player	Career span	Pts	Caps	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Avg
1	Dan Carter	2003–2015	1,598	112	29	293	281	8	14.27
2	Andrew Mehrtens	1995–2004	967	70	7	169	188	10	13.81
3	Beauden Barrett	2012–2023	734	123	43	166	58	3	5.97
4	Grant Fox	1985–1993	645	46	1	118	128	7	14.02
5	Richie Mo'unga	2017–2023	466	55	11	144	41	0	8.47
6	Aaron Cruden	2010–2017	322	50	5	63	56	1	6.44
7	Jordie Barrett	2017–	292	57	24	47	26	0	5.12
8	Carlos Spencer	1997–2004	291	35	14	49	41	0	8.31
9	Doug Howlett	2000–2007	245	62	49	0	0	0	3.95
10	Christian Cullen	1996–2002	236	58	46	3	0	0	4.07

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[3]

Most points in a match

#	Player	Position	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Result	Opposition	Date
1.	Simon Culhane	Fly-half	45	1	20	0	145–17	Japan	4 June 1995
2.	Tony Brown	Fly-half	36	1	11	3	101–3	Italy	14 October 1999
3.	Carlos Spencer	Fly-half	33	2	10	1	93–8	Argentina	21 June 1997
	Andrew Mehrtens	Fly-half	33	1	5	6	63–15	Ireland	15 November 1997
	Dan Carter	Fly-half	33	2	4	5	48–18	British and Irish Lions	2 July 2005
	Nick Evans	Fly-half	33	1	14	0	108–13	Portugal	15 September 2007
7.	Tony Brown	Fly-half	32	1	12	1	102–0	Tonga	16 June 2000
8.	Marc Ellis	Centre	30	6	0	0	145–17	Japan	4 June 1995
	Tony Brown	Fly-half	30	3	3	3	50–6	Samoa	16 June 2001
	Beauden Barrett	Fly-half	30	4	5	0	40–12	Australia	25 August 2018

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[4]

Most tries in a match

#	Player	Position	Tries	Result	Opposition	Date
1.	Marc Ellis	Centre	6	145–17	Japan	4 June 1995
2.	Jeff Wilson	Wing	5	71–5	Fiji	14 June 1997
2.	Will Jordan	Wing	5	102–0	Tonga	3 July 2021
4.	Duncan McGregor	Wing	4	15–0	England	2 December 1905
	John Gallagher	Fullback	4	74–13	Fiji	27 May 1987
	Craig Green	Wing	4	74–13	Fiji	27 May 1987
	John Kirwan	Wing	4	52–3	Wales	28 May 1988
	Jonah Lomu	Wing	4	45–29	England	18 June 1995
	Christian Cullen	Fullback	4	62–31	Scotland	15 June 1996
	Jeff Wilson	Fullback	4	71–13	Samoa	18 June 1999
	Mils Muliaina	Wing	4	68–6	Canada	17 October 2003
	Sitiveni Sivivatu	Wing	4	91–0	Fiji	10 June 2005
	Zac Guildford	Wing	4	79–15	Canada	2 October 2011
	Beauden Barrett	Fly-half	4	40–12	Australia	25 August 2018
	Jordie Barrett	Wing	4	66–3	Italy	24 November 2018
	George Bridge	Wing	4	92–7	Tonga	7 September 2019
	Dane Coles	Hooker	4	57–23	Fiji	10 July 2021

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[5]

Most matches as captain

#	Player	Span	Caps	Total caps	Win %
1.	Richie McCaw	2004–2015	110	148	89.09%
2	Kieran Read	2012–2019	52	127	84.31%
3.	Sean Fitzpatrick	1992–1997	51	92	77.45%
4.	Wilson Whineray	1958–1965	30	32	78.33%
5.	Sam Cane	2015–2023	27	95	75%
6.	Reuben Thorne	2002–2007	23	50	86.95%
7.	Taine Randell	1998–2002	22	51	56.81%
8.	Tana Umaga	2004–2005	21	74	85.71%
9.	Graham Mourie	1977–1982	19	21	78.94%
10.	Brian Lochore	1966–1970	18	25	83.33%

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[6]

Youngest players

#	Player	Age	DOB	Debut	Opposition
1.	Jonah Lomu	19 years 45 days	12 May 1975	26 June 1994	France
2.	Edgar Wrigley	19 years 79 days	15 June 1886	2 September 1905	Australia
3.	Pat Walsh	19 years 106 days	6 May 1936	20 August 1955	Australia
4.	John Kirwan	19 years 183 days	16 December 1964	16 June 1984	France
5.	George Nēpia	19 years 190 days	25 April 1905	1 November 1924	Ireland
6.	Billy Mitchell	19 years 211 days	28 November 1890	27 June 1910	Australia
7.	Bill Francis	19 years 221 days	4 February 1894	13 September 1913	Australia
8.	Rieko Ioane	19 years 239 days	18 March 1997	12 November 2016	Italy
9.	James Baird	19 years 270 days	17 December 1893	13 September 1913	Australia
10.	Neil Wolfe	19 years 275 days	20 October 1941	22 July 1961	France

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type.^[7]

Oldest players

#	Player	Age	DOB	Last Match	Opposition
1.	Ned Hughes	40 years 123 days	26 April 1881	27 August 1921	South Africa
2.	Dane Coles	36 years 308 days	10 December 1986	14 October 2023	Ireland
3.	Brad Thorn	36 years 262 days	3 February 1975	23 October 2011	France
4.	Keven Mealamu	36 years 225 days	20 March 1979	31 October 2015	Australia
5.	Frank Bunce	35 years 305 days	4 February 1962	6 December 1997	England
6.	John Ashworth	35 years 283 days	15 September 1949	29 June 1985	Australia
7.	Richard Loe	35 years 226 days	6 April 1960	18 November 1995	France
8.	Tane Norton	35 years 136 days	30 March 1942	13 August 1977	British and Irish Lions
9.	Andrew Hore	35 years 72 days	13 September 1978	24 November 2013	Ireland
9.	Colin Meads	35 years 72 days	3 June 1936	14 August 1971	British and Irish Lions

Current as of New Zealand vs South Africa, 28 October 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Current All Blacks are indicated in bold type^[8]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia national rugby union team</span> National rugby union team

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.

The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, and more recently The Brave Blossoms is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship. They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina national rugby union team</span> National sports team

The Argentina national rugby union team represents the Argentine Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Officially nicknamed Los Pumas, they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 7th in the world by World Rugby, making them by some distance the highest-ranked nation in the Americas.

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.

The Romania national rugby union team represents the Romanian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed Stejarii, the team is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they won in 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation.

The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.

The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. They have beaten the major rugby playing sides of Wales, Scotland, Australia, France, Argentina and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.

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 defeated the one other competitor in 1920 and the two other competitors at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

The Canada national rugby union team represents the Canadian Rugby Union in international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.

The Portugal national rugby union team, nicknamed Os Lobos, represents Portugal in men's international rugby union competitions. The team, as well as all rugby union in Portugal, is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby.

New Zealand and South Africa have been playing Test Match Rugby against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13–5. It is argued to be the biggest rivalry in World Rugby history. There is considerable history behind these matches, much of it off the field. In 1981, there were protests in New Zealand over the Springboks coming to New Zealand due to the then South African government's policy of Apartheid. Up until 1996 New Zealand had never won a series in South Africa but South Africa had won a series in New Zealand in 1937.

The 2010 end-of-year rugby union tests, also known as the Autumn internationals in the northern hemisphere, saw Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in a competitive tour of the northern hemisphere. Test matches were also arranged with the various Pacific island teams and other non-Tier 1 international sides. This period also marked the conclusion of the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying process, as well as the beginning of the European Nations Cup.

The 2013 Rugby Championship, known as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. New Zealand as the 2012 holders, was trying to keep their 100% winning record in the championship after winning six from six in 2012.

The 2017 mid-year rugby union internationals were international rugby union matches that were mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window.

References

↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most matches". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual tries". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual points". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual points in a match". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual tries in a match". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most matches as a captain". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Youngest appearance". ESPN scrum.
↑ "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Oldest appearance". ESPN scrum.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most matches". ESPN scrum.

[2] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual tries". ESPN scrum.

[3] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual points". ESPN scrum.

[4] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual points in a match". ESPN scrum.

[5] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most individual tries in a match". ESPN scrum.

[6] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Most matches as a captain". ESPN scrum.

[7] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Youngest appearance". ESPN scrum.

[8] "Rugby Union | New Zealand | Oldest appearance". ESPN scrum.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]