Who is the leading tryscorer in international rugby union?

Rugby union is the most popular form of rugby, globally, and is played in over a hundred countries on six countries. Indeed, rugby union is the national sport in developed countries, such as New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Georgia – all of whom have played, at one time or another, in the Rugby World Cup – and even in Madagascar, which is one of the least developed countries in the world, according to the United Nations.

Half a dozen players have scored 50 or more tries in international rugby, but the leading tryscorer of all time is the former Japanese wing, and occasional centre, Daisuke Ohata. Ohata rose to prominence in the World Rugby Sevens Series but, having scored a hat-trick on his debut for the Japanese national team on November 9, 1996, went on to play 58 test matches. All in all, he scored 69 tries and, while his record was criticised because he spent much of his career playing inferior nations, he also scored tries against against France, Ireland, Wales and Argentina.

Second place on the list of all-time tryscorers in international rugby is former South African wing Bryan Habana, with 67 tries. A Rugby World Cup winner in 2007, Habana also jointly holds the record, with Jonah Lomu, for the number of tries scored in a single Rugby World Cup tournament (8) and for the number of tries scored at the Rugby World Cup (15). Habana is closely followed by former Australian wing and full-back David ‘Campo’ Campese, with 64 tries in 101 test matches; Campese was the first Australian player to participate in hundred test matches.