Try scoring is the main way that points are scored in the game of rugby. They are the target for every team who plays the game. But who has scored the most tries in a single game?
What is the most tries scored in one game? In a 1995 Rugby World Cup game between New Zealand and Japan, 23 tries were scored, a record for a single game. New Zealand scored 21 of the tries, running out 145-17 winners. Countless records set in that game.
In 1995, Japan and New Zealand headed into the Rugby World Cup with very different expectations. The All Blacks were one of the best teams in the world and were looking for their second Rugby World Cup title, having won the very first tournament eight years prior.
Japan were just hoping to add to their Rugby World Cup wins, having just a single win in the previous two tournaments. So the expectations were that New Zealand would steamroll Japan, but I don’t know if anyone thought the margin of victory would be quite as big as it ended up being.
New Zealand steamrolled through Japan, scoring a record breaking 21 tries in a single game. It was a game which set countless international records including the largest winning margin in international rugby history, as well as the most tries scored in a single game with 23.
There have been games which have gotten extremely close to that mark. In 2003, Australia scored 22 tries on their way to beating Namibia, which is the most scored by a single team in a game. But Namibia did not score any tries of their own so the game is still second behind the New Zealand game in terms of total tries scores.
This is the most tries scored in an international game of rugby and there have been cases in lower level domestic games where more tries have been scored in a single game of rugby. In 2015, Belgian side Royal Kituro ran in 56 tries against their opponents Soignies to produce one of the craziest score lines in rugby history.
This result seems to be the most tries scored in a single domestic game of rugby, although there are controversial circumstances around this game. Before the game started, the referee was an hour late and some of the Soignies team had left, assuming that the game was going to be cancelled.
So in protest, the Soignies team that remained actually played very little role in trying to stop the opposing team from scoring. This is why there was a try almost every 90 seconds, setting an incredible record. But this game is often ignored in the record books because of the extenuating circumstances.
It is therefore much easier to have the New Zealand and Japan game from 1995 as the most tries scored in a single game.
What is the highest England rugby score?
The highest score in an England rugby game is 134-0 against Romania in 2001. At the start of the 21st century, England were undoubtedly one of the best rugby teams in the world. It was two years prior to their Rugby World Cup victory, with much of the team that would lift the trophy in place at the time.
England decided to play a very strong side against Romania in the Autumn of 2001. Romania had a planned tour against Wales and England, but the game against England could not have gone much worse. They probably would not have liked the fact that England named an incredibly strong squad for the game.
Guys like Mike Tindall, Jason Robinson, Ben Cohen, Ben Kay and Will Greenwood all started against Romania, as well as starting in the Rugby World Cup final later that year. The England team featured players who had started for the Lions earlier in the year.
The game went exactly how a lot of people expected, with the score being a whopping 72-0 at half time. In the end, England had scored 20 tries thanks to their backline cutting through Romania with ease. Jason Robinson got four tries on his own, with Ben Cohen and Dan Luger also adding a hat-trick each.
It is by far the biggest result in English Rugby history. There have been a few games which have gotten close. The result against Romania beat England’s 110-0 demolition of the Netherlands which happened two years prior.
At the Rugby World Cup in 2003, England ran in 111 points against Uruguay for their biggest score in a Rugby World Cup game. But to this date, there has not been another game which has produced a higher rugby score than England’s win over Romania in 2001.
Who has scored the most points for England Rugby in one game?
There have been some incredible Fly-halves who have been able to score a huge amount of points in games. But it is actually one of the lesser known England Fly-halves who holds the record for the most points scored in a single game.
Charlie Hodgson has the most individual points in a rugby game for England with 44. It does not sound believable, but it is true that Charlie Hodgson once scored 44 points all on his own. What makes the record even more impressive is that Hodgson did this on his England debut.
Seen as an exciting Fly-half prospect to start the 21st century, Hodgson would be given his first chance in an England shirt when Romania visited towards the end of 2001. He would be the sides starting Fly-Half for England’s biggest ever victory, which gave him the best chance to score a huge amount of points.
With two tries, 14 conversions and 2 penalties, Hodgson finished the game on 44 points. His 44 points made up part of England’s 134 points which they scored against Romania. No one has been able to get close to that record, partly because England have not produced as dominant a performance as they did against Romania.
Paul Grayson is second with 36 points against Tonga, with Johnny Wilkinson’s 35 point performance against Italy in third place.