The bench press records of 49 elite rugby players
‘How much do you bench bro?’ It’s a sports’ cliché, but the bench press continues to occupy a uniquely macho seat in the pantheon of weight training disciplines, and professional rugby players are by no means immune.
Some variation of the bench press remains a staple in rugby clubs across the globe. Upper body strength remains a valuable asset in the game, once it doesn’t come at the cost of compromising a player’s speed or endurance.
One rep max bench presses are also a potentially dangerous exercise for contact sports athletes to attempt. Many avoid PBs on the bench as they pose a significant risk of pectoral tears or upper limber injury. For most rugby players, having a big number on the bench isn’t worth the risk of a potentially season-ending injury.
It goes without saying that rugby players are neither powerlifters, professional strongmen nor bodybuilders. In a rugby context, an enormous bench press is not necessarily indicative of anything other than a strong upper body. It doesn’t always translate into a good rugby player on the field of play. Rugby is not a weight-lifting competition; it’s a contact sport that requires speed, endurance, and explosive strength of its athletes. Many of the world’s best rugby players have modest PBs on the bench press.
The relative bodyweight of players and what they’re throwing up on the bar must be taken into account. The Springboks, for example, expect Test players to bench press between 1.3 to 1.5 times their bodyweight, position-dependent. A 120kg prop, therefore, would be expected to bench 180kg as a ‘minimum’ requirement, while a 100kg centre would be expected to bench 130kg.
Generally speaking, S&C coaches have moved the sport towards core and explosive strength training in the last decade – away from a ‘bulk at all costs’ mindset. One PRO14 head coach RugbyPass spoke to said that he was interested in creating powerful, fast athletes, regardless of their size. He likened it the Irish MMA fight Conor McGregor: an example of explosive athlete generating KO forces on a lithe 70kg frame.
Nevertheless, be it a spotty teenager aiming to make the school’s first XV or a veteran tighthead who wants the club bragging rights, the bench press remains an entrenched part of rugby’s cultural psyche.
The following list comes with a health warning. While most of the numbers represent personal bests for many of these players, inevitably some will have either bested these records or, inversely, are no longer capable of lifting that amount. For example, Wallaby backrow David Pocock benched 185kg at his peak, but admitted in a 2019 post on Instagram that “I’d be pushing it doing 155/160kg at the moment”.
The vast majority of figures come from comments made by teammates, coaches or the player themselves in the media. Despite that, inevitably, some question marks remain over one or two of below numbers, especially in a discipline so given to hyperbole.
The list is also not an exhaustive list of the top bench press records in the sport; rather it’s the bench press PBs of some notable professional rugby players.
An honorable mention must also go to former Wallaby wing Murdoch Alistair, who benched 227.5kg (raw) at the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation (WDFPF) in 2014 in the under 110kg bodyweight category. He did, however, manage this feat long after his retirement from rugby, and at the age of 46.
Gheorghe Gajion (Ospreys) 230kg
WillGriff John (Sale Sharks) 230kg
Aled de Malmanche (Stade Francis, retired) 220kg
Biyi Alo (Wasps) 220kg
Leo Halavatau (Soyaux Angoulême XV) 217.5kg
Andrew Sheridan (Sale Shark, retired) 215kg
Alfie To’oala Vaeluaga (Samoa) 210kg
Max Lahiff (Bristol Bears) 210kg
Nicky Smith (Ospreys) 200kg
Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) 200kg
Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) 200kg
Tom Court (Ulster, retired) 200kg
Jack Whetton (Highlanders) 200kg
Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes) 195kg
Ben Tameifuna (Racing 92) 190kg
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) 190kg
Siate Tokolahi (Highlanders) 190kg
Cian Healy (Leinster) 190kg
David Kilcoyne (Munster) 187.5kg
Jackson Wray (Saracens) 187.5kg
Maro Itoje (Saracens) 187.5kg
David Pocock (Panasonic Wildknights) 185kg
Ugo Monye (Harlequins, retired) 185kg
Joe Moody (Crusaders) 180kg
Pouri Rakete-Stones (Hawk’s Bay) 180kg
Will Genia (Rebels) 180kg
Digby Ioane (Glendale Raptors) 180kg
Mike McCarthy (Leinster, retired) 180kg
Tendai Mtawarira (Old Glory) 180kg
Gareth Denman (Coventry) 180kg
Tom James (Scarlets) 180kg
Paul O’Connell (Munster, retired) 179kg
Nemani Nadolo (Montpellier) 175kg
Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) 175kg
Jaycob Matiu (Northland) 170kg
Ben Funnell (Crusaders) 165kg
Pierre Spies (Montpellier, retired) 165kg
Matt Vaai (Counties Manukau) 162.5kg
Pete Samu (Brumbies) 160kg
Sam Whitelock (Panasonic Wildknights) 160kg
Matt Todd (Crusaders) 150kg
Caleb Timu (Montpellier) 150kg
Andy Goode (Newcastle Falcons) 150kg
Dan Carter (free agent) 145kg
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) 140kg
Jim Hamilton (Saracens, retired) 140kg
Sonny Bill Williams (ex-Blues) 140kg
Jimmy Gopperth (Provence Rugby) 140kg
Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders) 137kg
Is your name on the list and have we got your figure wrong? DM us on Twitter, or email us at ian@rugbypass.com
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments