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Top rugby world cup points scorers
10) Gonzalo Quesada – 135
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The Argentine fly-half spent much of his playing career in France, before eventually hanging up his boots and making his way in the French coaching world.
A very talented kicker, Gonzalo Quesada was nicknamed Speedy Gonzalo due to the extraordinary amount of time it took for him to slot his kicks. It was due to this composure that Quesada finished as the top points scorer of the 1999 rugby world cup with 102 points.
9) Frédéric Michalak – 136
The French maverick was a hugely problematic player to come up against. He could play either half-back position, and as well as being lethal with the boot, he had incredible open-play vision.
Michalak scored the majority of his world cup points back in 2003, where his total tally came to a rather impressive 101 points. This was marginally behind the eventual world cup winner, Jonny Wilkinson.
In 2015 Michalak become France’s all-time top scorer, retiring from international rugby later that year a good 56 points ahead of Christophe Lamaison.
8) Chris Paterson – 140
Scotland’s most reliable kicker during the 2000s, between 11th August 2007 and 7th June 2008 Chris Patterson kicked 36 consecutive goals to break the world record at the time.
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Such was his feat, Patterson was able to complete an entire world cup and a six nations campaign without missing a single kick.
He holds the record number of points for Scotland with 809 achieved in his 109 caps, which was also a record at the time.
7) Handré Pollard – 162
The only player on this list to still be playing, Handré Pollard marshaled his South African teammates to victory in the 2019 rugby world cup. It was during this world cup that Pollard cemented himself on this list, with 69 individual points he found himself top of the scoring charts.
At the age of just 28, and having just secured himself a move to English champions Leicester Tigers, Pollard could certainly become a true legend of the game over the next few years.
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Pollard certainly has at least one, and probably two more world cups in him, so challenging the top of this list could be a genuine possibility.
6) Andrew Mehrtens – 163
Regarded by many as one of the most naturally gifted players the All Blacks have ever produced, Andrew Mehrtens struck up a 9-year international career that saw him score almost 1000 points.
Mehrtens featured in both the 1995 and the 1999 world cup, but sadly missed out in 2003 due to a spate of injuries.
It was in 1995 that a young Mehrtens missed a drop goal in the world cup final, that with mere minutes on the clock would have won the match and the competition. Despite this, he went on to be revered as one of the All Blacks greatest ever.
5) Grant Fox – 170
A member of the inaugural world cup winning squad of New Zealand, Grant Fox was a mainstay of the national squad right up until his retirement.
One of the most well-known fly-halves of all time, Fox is often cited as the pioneer of modern goal-kicking. His technique consisted of leaning the ball forward when placed for a kick. This style can enable a more accurate and longer kick and has been adopted by many world-class players since.
4) Dan Carter – 191
The perfect 10. Thought by many to be one of the greatest players of all time, thought by some to be the very greatest.
Carter turned out in four world cups, with his final one in 2015 being his greatest accomplishment with victory over rivals Australia in the final.
It was arguably Carter’s drop goal to take the All Blacks clear that proved to be the pivotal point in the game.
3) Michael Lynagh – 195
Nowadays known as the dad of Louis Lynagh, the silver-haired parent used to be known as one of the greatest players on the planet.
Lynagh was known for his phenomenal tactical play as well as his incredible kicking talents. It was these abilities of his that helped his national side Australia clinch the 1991 world cup.
With one conversion and two penalties in the final, Lynagh was able to help his teammates see off the English to win only the second-ever world cup.
2) Gavin Hastings – 227
Another man known simply as ‘dad’ in the rugby world now, Gavin Hastings is quite probably the most famous Scottish rugby player of all time.
At the time of his retirement, he was Scotland’s all-time leading points scorer with 667 points to his name.
Ruthless from the boot, the place-kicking full-back found himself near the top of the individual points scorers in all three world cups he was a part of. This was despite Scotland having never made it further than the quarter-finals.
1) Jonny Wilkinson – 277
The most famous English rugby player of all time. Catapulted into the stratosphere of international recognition after his heroics in 2003, Wilkinson fought through injury after injury to take England to the final again in 2007 before hanging up his international boots in 2011.
Pinpoint accurate from the kicking tee, as well as being an absolute drop goal menace, Wilkinson tops this list by a large margin.
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments