List of Ireland national rugby union team records

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.

Of the players known to have earned 80 or more Test caps, ten are current or retired members of the Ireland team. Four of these players have also crossed the 100-cap mark for Ireland. Ireland's all-time caps leader is Brian O'Driscoll with 133. The second most-capped player is Ronan O'Gara with 128. Ireland's third most capped player is Rory Best, with 124. Paul O'Connell has 108 caps. John Hayes, won 105 caps before retiring from rugby in December 2011. Following him are Peter Stringer, who has won 98 caps, Cian Healy with 97 caps, Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney, who have won 95 caps. Donncha O'Callaghan won 94 caps in his Ireland career, whilst Malcolm O'Kelly has currently 92 caps.[1]
These figures do not include caps for the Lions. When those are included, O'Driscoll has a total of 140 international caps. O'Gara has 130, O'Connell has 113, Hayes has 107, Heaslip has 100, and O'Callaghan has 98.[2]
O'Gara holds the Ireland record for Test points with 1,083,[3] placing him fourth all-time in international rugby union and making him one of only five players to have reached the 1,000 points mark. Jonathan Sexton (814), David Humphreys (560), Michael Kiernan (308) and Eric Elwood (296) complete the top 5 Irish points scorers.
O'Gara is also the highest points scorer in the Six Nations with 557 points. Jonny Wilkinson is second with 546, and Stephen Jones is third with 467.[4]
Ireland's record try scorer is O'Driscoll, who has 46 tries in his 133 appearances.[5] Tommy Bowe (30), Keith Earls (30), Denis Hickie (29) and Shane Horgan (21) complete the top 5 Irish try scorers.
O'Driscoll is also second on the all-time list for Test matches as captain. He has captained Ireland 83 times and the Lions once.[6]
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.[7]

Career

Most caps

#	Player	Career Span	Caps	Tries	Pts
1	Brian O'Driscoll	1999–2014	133	46	245
2	Ronan O'Gara	2000–2013	128	16	1083
3	Rory Best	2005–2019	124	12	60
4	Paul O'Connell	2002–2015	108	8	40
5	John Hayes	2000–2011	105	2	10
6	Peter Stringer	2000–2011	98	6	30
6	Cian Healy	2009–	98	5	25
8	Jamie Heaslip	2006–2017	95	13	65
8	Rob Kearney	2007–	95	16	82
10	Donncha O'Callaghan	2003–2013	94	1	5

Last updated: Ireland vs England, 23 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Most tries

#	Player	Career Span	Tries	Caps	Ave.
1	Brian O'Driscoll	1999–2014	46	133	0.35
2	Tommy Bowe	2004–2017	30	69	0.44
2	Keith Earls	2008–	30	84	0.36
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
7	Geordan Murphy	2000–2011	18	72	0.25
8	Brendan Mullin	1984–1995	17	55	0.31
8	Andrew Trimble	2005–2017	17	69	0.25
10	Rob Kearney	2007–	16	95	0.17
	Ronan O'Gara	2000–2013	16	128	0.13
	Jacob Stockdale	2017–	16	28	0.57

Last updated: Ireland vs England, 23 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Most points

#	Player	Career span	Points	Caps	Tries	Con.	Pen.	DG	Ave.
1	Ronan O'Gara	2000–2013	1083	128	16	176	202	15	8.46
2	Jonathan Sexton	2009–	814	91	13	112	171	4	8.94
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	166	21	2	36	27	1	7.90
9	Tom Kiernan	1960–1973	158	54	2	26	31	2	2.93
10	Tommy Bowe	2004–2017	150	68	30	0	0	0	2.21
10	Keith Earls	2008–	150	83	30	0	0	0	1.85

Last updated: Ireland vs England, 23 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Most matches as captain

#	Player	Span	Captaincies	Total caps	Win %
1	Brian O'Driscoll	2002–2012	83	133	63.25%
2	Rory Best	2009–2019	38	124	64.47%
3	Keith Wood	1996–2003	36	58	43.05%
4	Paul O'Connell	2004–2015	28	108	62.50%
5	Tom Kiernan	1963–1973	24	54	66.66%
6	Ciaran Fitzgerald	1982–1986	19	25	50.00%
7	Donal Lenihan	1986–1990	17	52	47.05%
7	Fergus Slattery	1979–1981	17	61	35.29%
9	Michael Bradley	1992–1995	15	40	36.66%
	William Crawford	1924–1927	15	30	70.00%
	Karl Mullen	1947–1952	15	25	73.33%

Last updated: Ireland vs England, 23 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Single match

Most points in a match

#	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
6	David Humphreys	Fly-half	24	0	0	7	1	24–28	Argentina	20 October 1999
8	Ralph Keyes	Fly-half	23	0	4	5	0	55–11	Zimbabwe	6 October 1991
8	Ronan O'Gara	Fly-half	23	0	10	1	0	78–9	Japan	11 November 2000
10	David Humphreys	Fly-half	22	0	2	6	0	54–10	Wales	3 February 2002

Last updated: Ireland vs Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Most tries in a match

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
3	Robert Montgomery	Three Quarters	0G-1G	Wales	12 March 1887
	Joseph Quinn	Wing	24–0	France	24 March 1913
	Eugene Davy	Wing	14–11	Scotland	22 February 1930
	Seamus Byrne	Wing	26–8	Scotland	28 February 1953
	Keith Crossan	Wing	60–0	Romania	1 November 1986
	Brendan Mullin	Centre	32–9	Tonga	3 June 1987
	Matt Mostyn	Wing	32–24	Argentina	28 August 1999
	Brian O'Driscoll	Centre	27–25	France	19 March 2000
	Mike Mullins	Centre	83–3	United States	10 June 2000
	Denis Hickie	Wing	78–9	Japan	11 November 2000
	Rob Henderson	Centre	41–22	Italy	3 February 2001
	Brian O'Driscoll	Centre	43–22	Scotland	2 March 2002
	Kevin Maggs	Centre	64–17	Fiji	17 November 2002
	Fergus McFadden	Wing	40–14	Canada	15 June 2013
	Craig Gilroy	Wing	63–10	Italy	11 February 2017
	CJ Stander	Flanker	63–10	Italy	11 February 2017
	Jordan Larmour	Fullback	54–7	Italy	3 November 2018
	Andrew Conway	Wing	57–14	United States	24 November 2018

Last updated: Ireland vs Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Player age

Youngest players

#	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	New Zealand 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.	Dave 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 Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Oldest players

#	Player	Age	DOB	Last Match	Opposition
1.	John Hayes	37 years 277 days	2 November 1973	6 August 2011	Scotland
2.	Rory Best	37 years 65 days	15 August 1982	19 October 2019	New Zealand
3.	Mike Gibson	36 years 195 days	3 December 1942	16 June 1979	Australia
4.	Mike Ross	36 years 187 days	21 December 1979	25 June 2016	South Africa
5.	Phil Orr	36 years 175 days	14 December 1950	7 June 1987	Australia
6.	Peter Clohessy	36 years 15 days	22 March 1966	6 April 2002	France
7.	Paul O'Connell	35 years 356 days	20 October 1979	12 October 2015	France
8.	Ronan O'Gara	35 years 354 days	7 March 1977	24 February 2013	Scotland
9.	Syd Millar	35 years 295 days	23 May 1934	14 March 1970	Wales
10.	Moss Keane	35 years 220 days	27 July 1948	3 March 1984	Scotland

Last updated: Ireland vs Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Team margins

Biggest winning margin

Margin	Date	Game	Ground
80	10 June 2000	United States 3–83 Ireland	Singer Family Park, Manchester, New Hampshire, US
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
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	8 November 2008	Ireland 55–0 Canada	Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland
55	30 August 2003	Ireland 61–6 Italy	Thomond Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland
53	11 February 2017	Ireland 63–10 Italy	Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
50	25 September 2011	Ireland 62–12 Russia	Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua, New Zealand
49	20 November 2004	Ireland 55–6 United States	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Last updated: Ireland vs Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

Biggest losing margin

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
38	12 November 2005	Ireland 7–45 New Zealand	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
38	30 November 1912	Ireland 0–38 South Africa	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Last updated: Ireland vs Wales, 8 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[1]

References

"Ireland Squad | Profiles:Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
"International Matches Record List". stats.espnscrum.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
"ESPNScrum Stasguru Overall Points Record". espnscrum.com. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
"Six Nations: Total Points Scored". stats.espnscrum.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
"Ireland Squad | Profiles : Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
"Statsguru / Player analysis / Brian O'Driscoll / Test matches (filter: as captain)". Scrum.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
"Thomas Gordon Profile". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

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[Ireland_Squad-1] "Ireland Squad | Profiles:Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

[2] "International Matches Record List". stats.espnscrum.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

[3] "ESPNScrum Stasguru Overall Points Record". espnscrum.com. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

[4] "Six Nations: Total Points Scored". stats.espnscrum.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2019.

[5] "Ireland Squad | Profiles : Irish Rugby". Irishrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2019.

[BOD_as_captain_Scrum.com-6] "Statsguru / Player analysis / Brian O'Driscoll / Test matches (filter: as captain)". Scrum.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

[7] "Thomas Gordon Profile". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.