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Saturday 25 October 2014

RECORD - RUGBY WORLD RECORDS GET RUCKING AND MAULING WITH OUR TOP 10 RUGGER-RELATED TITLES

It’s now less than a year until England and Fiji kick off the opening game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in London.

Preparations for the tournament began in record-breaking style last month with a successful attempt at the title for Largest rugby scrum at Twickenham, the iconic stadium set to host the final.


You can read more about the super-sized scrum here, but to further get you in mood for next year’s event, check out our top ten favourite records related to the sport.

1.Largest Haka
The Stade Amédée-Domenech proved to be a pretty intimidating place to be last month when French rugby fans made a successful attempt for the largest Haka world record.




The incredible spectacle saw a total of 4,028 participants on the pitch performing the traditional Māori war cry dance in unison following the Top 14 league match between home side CA Brive Corrèze Limousin and Bordeaux.

The haka has become synonymous with rugby after New Zealand’s All Blacks team began performing the ritual before their international matches during a tour in 1888–89.



2.Fastest rugby pass
Nicknamed The Speedster for his incredible turn of pace, London Wasps star Joe Simpson showed he was no slouch when it came to delivering a pass.



The scrum half set a new record for fastest throw of a rugby ball back in 2011 when he registered a pass of an incredible 48.0mph during an event at London’s Canary Wharf.

3.Most Rugby passes in one minute (pair)
Showing similar lightning-quick handling earlier this year were former  England rugby stars Austin Healey and Ben Kay who racked up an impressive 59 passes in 60 seconds between each other.



The achievement was all the more impressive taking into account the added pressure of the attempt being televised live on BT Sports ‘Rugby Tonight TV show.

Click here to watch the attempt.

4.Most conversions in a Rugby Union international career
When it comes to kicking, few come close to the consistency of All Black’s star Dan Carter.



The fly-half notched up 257 conversions for New Zealand between 2003-2013.

5. Most drop goals in an international Rugby Union career
Similarly blessed with the boot was England’s Jonny Wilkinson.

The recently-retired former Newcastle Falcons and Toulon star scored an unmatched 36 drop kicks from 97 matches for England and the British and Irish Lions between 1998 and 2011.



6. Most international Rugby Union caps won as captain
Irish legend Brian O'Driscoll has a number of world record titles to his name, but arguably the most impressive is the 34-year-old’s tally of 84 caps won as skipper while playing for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions from 2002 to 2012.



Now retired, O'Driscoll surpassed the figure of 83 achieved by John Smit (South Africa) who played for the Springboks between 2003 and 2009, when Ireland were beaten 60-0 by New Zealand.

7. Highest catch of a football
Waltzing Welshman Gavin Henson’s fancy footwork came in handy back in 2010 as he met his match in a super-sized game of catch outside Wembley Stadium in London.




Alongside former Arsenal football star David Seaman, the pair both caught balls travelling at terminal velocity from a record-breaking drop of 102.5m from the top of a crane.

8. Fastest time to score a try in a rugby union match

The fastest recorded try in a rugby union match was scored after 7.24 seconds by Tyson Lewis (UK) for Doncaster Knights Rugby Union Football Club versus Old Albanians at Wollam Playing Fields, St Albans, UK back in November last year.



The record breaking moment took place   during a NCA Rugby National 1 League game in England, with winger Lewis scoring direct from kick off after racing onto the ball after it had bounced over the head of an Old Albanians player.

9. Most tries in Rugby Union international career

Former Japanese rugby union player Daisuke Ohata is the world’s highest try scorer in international rugby, having scored 58 times for his country between 1996-2006.

Click below to watch what many regard as his finest moment on the field, a sensational full field try scored against Scotland during a rugby Sevens match in 1999.




10. Largest attendance at a Rugby Union match

Often described as "The Greatest Game of Rugby Ever Played", 109,874 paying fans turned out at Stadium Australia, Sydney to see New Zealand beat the home side 39-35 in July, 2000.



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