The England national rugby union team competed in the first international rugby match in 1871 against Scotland. Since then they have played in 746 matches.[1] The record for most Test appearances, or caps, is held by Jason Leonard who appeared in 114 games. Leonard was also the first man to play over 100 Test matches for England; a record he achieved in the 2003 Six Nations opener against France.
The record for most Test points by an Englishman is held by Jonny Wilkinson, who scored 1179 points between 1998 and 2011. The record for the number of Test tries is held by Rory Underwood, who scored 49 tries in 85 matches between 1984 and 1996.
Currently active players at Test level are listed in bold; those available for national selection but not currently in the national team setup are listed in italics. This list includes only points and tries scored playing for England, and does not include those scored for the British and Irish Lions.
Team records
Greatest winning margin
- As of November 2020[2]
| Margin | Date | Opposing Team | Result | Ground | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 134 | 17 November 2001 | 134 – 0 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 2001 Autumn Internationals | |
| 110 | 14 November 1998 | 110 – 0 | Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England | 1999 Rugby World Cup Qualifier | |
| 98 | 21 August 1999 | 106 – 8 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 1999 USA Tour | |
| 98 | 2 November 2003 | 111 – 13 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia | 2003 Rugby World Cup | |
| 91 | 15 October 1999 | 101 – 10 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 1999 Rugby World Cup | |
| 78 | 12 October 2003 | 84 – 6 | Subiaco Oval, Perth, Australia | 2003 Rugby World Cup | |
| 70 | 13 November 2004 | 70 – 0 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 2004 Canada Tour | |
| 64 | 24 September 2011 | 67 – 3 | Otago Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand | 2011 Rugby World Cup | |
| 60 | 2 October 1999 | 67 – 7 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 1999 Rugby World Cup | |
| 57 | 17 February 2001 | 80 – 23 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 2001 Six Nations Championship | |
| 57 | 4 August 2007 | 62 – 5 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 2007 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches | |
| 57 | 10 October 2015 | 60 – 3 | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England | 2015 Rugby World Cup |
Greatest losing margin
- As of November 2020[3]
| Margin | Date | Opposing Team | Result | Ground | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 6 June 1998 | 0 – 76 | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | 1998 England Tour | |
| 48 | 26 May 2007 | 10 – 58 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa | 2007 England Tour | |
| 42 | 20 June 1998 | 22 – 64 | Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand | 1998 England Tour | |
| 36 | 26 June 2004 | 15 – 51 | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | 2004 England Tour | |
| 36 | 14 September 2007 | 0 – 36 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | 2007 Rugby World Cup | |
| 36 | 22 November 2008 | 6 – 42 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | 2008 South Africa Tour | |
| 33 | 12 June 2004 | 3 – 36 | Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand | 2004 England Tour | |
| 33 | 2 June 2007 | 22 – 55 | Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa | 2007 England Tour | |
| 32 | 21 June 2008 | 12 – 44 | Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand | 2008 England Tour | |
| 31 | 11 June 2006 | 3 – 34 | Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia | 2006 England Tour | |
| 30 | 27 June 1998 | 10 – 40 | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 1998 England Tour | |
| 30 | 24 February 2007 | 13 – 43 | Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland | 2007 Six Nations Championship |
Individual career records
Most capped players
- As of 13 February 2021[4]
| Rank | Name | Career | Caps | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Leonard | 1990–2004 | 114 | Prop |
| 2 | Ben Youngs | 2010– | 106 | Scrum-half |
| 3 | Dylan Hartley | 2008–2018 | 97 | Hooker |
| 4 | Dan Cole | 2010–2019 | 95 | Prop |
| 5 | Jonny Wilkinson | 1998–2011 | 91 | Fly-half |
| 6 | Owen Farrell | 2012– | 90 | Fly-half |
| 7 | Courtney Lawes | 2009- | 87 | Lock |
| 9 | Lawrence Dallaglio | 1995–2007 | 85 | Number 8 |
| Rory Underwood | 1984–1996 | Wing | ||
| 11 | Danny Care | 2008–2018 | 84 | Scrum-half |
| Martin Johnson | 1993–2003 | Lock | ||
| 12 | Joe Worsley | 1999–2011 | 78 | Flanker |
| 13 | Matt Dawson | 1995–2006 | 77 | Scrum-half |
| James Haskell | 2007–2018 | Back-row | ||
| 15 | Mike Catt | 1994–2007 | 75 | Centre |
| Mike Tindall | 2001–2011 | Centre | ||
| 17 | George Ford | 2014– | 74 | Fly-half |
| 18 | Steve Thompson | 2002-2011 | 73 | Hooker |
| Phil Vickery | 1998-2009 | Prop | ||
| 20 | Mike Brown | 2007–2018 | 72 | Fullback |
| Will Carling | 1988–1997 | Centre |
Top point scorers
- As of 13 February 2021[5]
| Rank | Name | Career | Points | Tries | Conversions | Penalties | Drop Goals | Caps | Points per cap ratio | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonny Wilkinson | 1998–2011 | 1179 | 6 | 162 | 239 | 36 | 91 | 12.96 | Fly-half |
| 2 | Owen Farrell | 2012– | 986 | 10 | 165 | 199 | 3 | 90 | 10.96 | Fly-half/Centre |
| 3 | Paul Grayson | 1995–2004 | 400 | 2 | 78 | 72 | 6 | 32 | 12.5 | Fly-half |
| 4 | Rob Andrew | 1985–1997 | 396 | 2 | 33 | 86 | 21 | 71 | 5.58 | Fly-half |
| 5 | George Ford | 2014– | 308 | 10 | 54 | 48 | 2 | 74 | 4.16 | Fly-half |
| 6 | Toby Flood | 2006–2013 | 301 | 4 | 40 | 66 | 1 | 60 | 5.02 | Fly-half |
| 7 | Jonathan Webb | 1987–1993 | 296 | 4 | 41 | 66 | 0 | 33 | 8.97 | Full-back |
| 8 | Charlie Hodgson | 2001–2012 | 269 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 3 | 38 | 7.08 | Fly-half |
| 9 | Dusty Hare | 1974–1984 | 240 | 2 | 14 | 67 | 1 | 25 | 9.6 | Full-back |
| 10 | Rory Underwood | 1984–1996 | 210 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 2.47 | Wing |
Top try scorers
- As of 13 February 2021[6]
| Rank | Name | Career | Tries | Caps | Tries per cap ratio | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rory Underwood | 1984–1996 | 49 | 85 | 0.58 | Wing |
| 2 | Jonny May | 2013– | 32 | 63 | 0.51 | Wing |
| 3 | Ben Cohen | 2000–2006 | 31 | 57 | 0.54 | Wing |
| Will Greenwood | 1997–2004 | 31 | 55 | 0.56 | Centre | |
| 5 | Jeremy Guscott | 1989–1999 | 30 | 65 | 0.46 | Centre |
| 6 | Jason Robinson | 2001–2007 | 28 | 51 | 0.55 | Full-back |
| 7 | Dan Luger | 1998–2003 | 24 | 38 | 0.63 | Wing |
| 8 | Josh Lewsey | 1998–2007 | 22 | 55 | 0.4 | Wing |
| 9 | Chris Ashton | 2010–2019 | 20 | 44 | 0.45 | Wing |
| Mark Cueto | 2004–2011 | 20 | 55 | 0.36 | Wing | |
| Anthony Watson | 2014– | 20 | 48 | 0.42 | Wing |
Most matches as captain
- As of 13 February 2021[7]
| Rank | Name | Career | Tests | Won | Drew | Lost | Win percent | Position | Honours as captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Carling | 1988–1996 | 59 | 44 | 1 | 14 | 74.6 | Centre | 1991 Grand Slam 1991 Rugby World Cup Final 1992 Grand Slam 1995 Grand Slam 1996 Five Nations Championship |
| 2 | Chris Robshaw | 2012–2017 | 42 | 25 | 0 | 17 | 59.5 | Flanker | 2014 Triple Crown |
| 3 | Martin Johnson | 1998–2003 | 39 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 87.2 | Lock | 2001 Six Nations Championship 2002 Triple Crown 2003 Grand Slam 2003 Rugby World Cup |
| 4 | Dylan Hartley | 2012–2018 | 30 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 83.3 | Hooker | 2016 Grand Slam 2017 Six Nations Championship |
| 5 | Owen Farrell | 2018– | 30 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 70.0 | Fly-half/Centre | 2019 Rugby World Cup Final 2020 Six Nations Championship 2020 Triple Crown |
| 6 | Lawrence Dallaglio | 1997–2004 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 45.5 | Number 8 | 1998 Triple Crown |
| 7 | Bill Beaumont | 1978–1982 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 52.4 | Lock | 1980 Grand Slam |
| Steve Borthwick | 2008–2010 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 42.9 | Lock | None | |
| 9 | Martin Corry | 2005–2007 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 52.9 | Lock | None |
| 10 | Phil Vickery | 2002–2008 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 66.7 | Prop | 2007 Rugby World Cup Final |
Individual match records
Most points in a match
- As of February 2021[8]
| Rank | Player | Position | Pts | Tries | Con | Pen | DG | Result | Opposition | Competition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Hodgson | Fly-half | 44 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 134–0 | 2001 Autumn Internationals | 17 November 2001 | |
| 2 | Paul Grayson | Fly-half | 36 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 101–10 | 1999 Rugby World Cup | 15 October 1999 | |
| 3 | Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | 35 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 80–23 | 2001 Six Nations Championship | 17 February 2001 | |
| 4 | Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | 32 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 67–7 | 1999 Rugby World Cup | 2 October 1999 | |
| 5 | Rob Andrew | Fly-half | 30 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 60–19 | 1994 Canada Tour | 10 December 1994 | |
| Paul Grayson | Fly-half | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 110–0 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification | 14 November 1998 | |||
| Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 50–10 | 2002 Six Nations Championship | 23 March 2002 | |||
| 8 | Dave Walder | Fly-half | 29 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 59–20 | 2001 England Tour | 9 June 2001 | |
| 9 | Rob Andrew | Fly-half | 27 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 32–15 | 1994 England Tour | 9 June 1994 | |
| Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 27–22 | 2000 England Tour | 24 June 2000 | |||
| Charlie Hodgson | Fly-half | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 32–16 | 2004 Autumn Internationals | 20 November 2004 | |||
| Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 42–20 | 2007 Six Nations Championship | 3 February 2007 |
Most tries in a match
- As of February 2021[9]
| Tries | Player | Position | Result | Opposition | Competition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Douglas Lambert | Wing | 41–13 | 1907 test match | 5 January 1907 | |
| Rory Underwood | Wing | 58-23 | 1989 Fiji Tour | 4 November 1989 | ||
| Josh Lewsey | Fullback | 111-13 | 2003 Rugby World Cup | 2 November 2003 | ||
| 4 | George Burton | Forward | 8G-0G | 1881 Home Nations matches | 19 February 1881 | |
| Arthur Hudson | Wing | 35-8 | 1906 test match | 22 March 1906 | ||
| Ronald Poulton | Centre | 39-13 | 1914 Five Nations Championship | 13 April 1914 | ||
| Chris Oti | Wing | 58-3 | 1989 England Tour | 13 May 1989 | ||
| Neil Back | Flanker | 110-0 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification | 14 November 1998 | ||
| Jeremy Guscott | Centre | 110-0 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification | 14 November 1998 | ||
| Jeremy Guscott | Centre | 106-8 | 1999 USA Tour | 21 August 1999 | ||
| Jason Robinson | Fullback | 134-0 | 2001 Autumn Internationals | 17 November 2001 | ||
| Nick Easter | Number 8 | 65-5 | 2007 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches | 4 August 2007 | ||
| Chris Ashton | Wing | 59-13 | 2011 Six Nations Championship | 12 February 2011 |
See also
- England rugby union try record progression
- List of leading rugby union test point scorers
- List of leading rugby union test try scorers
- List of rugby union test caps leaders
References
- ^ "Overall England Figures". ESPNScrum.com. ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Team Records". ESPNScrum.com. ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Team Records". ESPNScrum.com. ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "England Player Records: total matches played (ordered by matches)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "England Player Records: total points scored (ordered by points)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "England Player Records: total tries scored (ordered by tries)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "England Player Records: total matches played as captain (ordered by matches)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Player Match Records". ESPNScrum.com. ESPN.
- ^ "Player Records". ESPNScrum.com. ESPN.