There have been some phenomenal centurions in rugby history. The very best international players have been able to reach 100 caps in a very quick time. So who is the player to reach 100 caps the fastest?
Who is the fastest player to 100 caps in rugby? Michael Hooper is the fastest player to 100 caps, hardly surprising when you consider how important Michael Hooper has been to the Wallabies over the last decade.
Michael Hooper has been one of the first names on the team sheet for the Wallabies for the last decade. Born in Sydney, Hooper started playing rugby at a very early age and he quickly gained attention from his country.
Hooper was the captain of the Australia under 20s team that went to the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship, a tournament where he was also named international player of the tournament. He was so good in the junior Australian team that it did not take long for Hooper to make his debut for the senior team.
Michael Hooper made his Australia debut in June 2012 after a breakout Super Rugby campaign with the Brumbies. Hooper quickly became an important starter in the team due to repeated knee injuries to David Pocock. Hooper was able to step into his place very well and was named Wallabies player of the year for 2013.
Only a couple of years after making his debut, Hooper was named captain of Australia for the 2014 international test season. He became the youngest Wallabies captain since 1961, a sign that Hooper was crucial to the national team from a very early age. He became the team’s full-time captain in 2017.
Hooper finally made his 100th appearance for the Wallabies in 2020, becoming the fastest player to 100 caps in international rugby. It is hardly surprising that Hooper got to this achievement so quickly considering how important to the national team he is. He has been named Australian Rugby Player of the year four times.
He has also been fortunate with injuries, rarely being out for much time due to injury. It means Hooper is now one of the best Australian players in rugby history and it is likely he will continue to break records for the national team as he is only 31 years old at the time of writing.
Who is the youngest rugby player to 100 caps?
While Michael Hooper is the fastest player to reach 100 caps since their debut, he is not the youngest player in international rugby to reach 100 caps for their country. Hooper did also hold that record but it was broken in 2021.
George North is the youngest rugby player to reach 100 caps in international rugby. North is one of the best Welsh players of the last decade. Having grown up in Anglesey, he made the big decision to move to South Wales to further his career. It was a very smart move as North broke into the Scarlets team at age 18 due to injuries in the first-team squad.
After playing just six games for the Scarlets, North got a call-up to be part of the Wales squad for the 2010 Autumn Internationals. He was named in the team for the game against South Africa and made his Wales debut at age 18. He scored two tries in his debut, becoming the youngest player to score a try for Wales.
After an excellent start to his international career, North was not a regular straight away as Warren Gatland opted for more experienced wingers. He became the regular starter just before the 2011 Rugby World Cup thanks to starting winger Morgan Stoddart breaking his leg in the run-up to the competition.
Since then North has been the regular starter for Wales as well as playing for the British and Irish Lions on two different tours. He has played in three World Cups for Wales and helped the nation reach two Rugby World Cup semi-finals. He has scored more than 40 tries for Wales and is still in the team today having moved to centre.
North made his 100th appearance for Wales in 2021 when he started against England in the 2021 Six Nations. North started as the outside centre and it was a brilliant day for North. Wales won the game 40-24 and would go on to win the Six Nations. With Wales North has won the Six Nations four times and was part of one of the most successful Welsh teams in
history.
Having been just 28 when he became an international centurion, North beat Michael Hooper’s previous record. Having made his debut for the national team at such a young age it is hardly surprising he reached this feat at such a young age.
Who is the youngest England rugby player to 100 caps?
Ben Young is the youngest player to reach 100 caps for England. Youngs came up through the Leicester academy with his brother Tom, with Ben making his first debut against Argentina. His Premiership debut came at the age of 17 when he came off the bench for the Tigers.
Having been the Tigers Player of the Season in the 2009/10 season, he got England’s attention very quickly. Youngs had been part of England teams at U16, U18 and U20. He actually made his debut on the wing despite being a scrum-half for the majority of his career. Since his debut in 2010, Youngs has been an England regular.
Youngs went to the Rugby World Cup with England in 2011, 2015 and 2019, being the starter for the last two tournaments. He was part of the England team that won the Grand Slam in 2016 as well as beating Australia 3-0 in a tour of the country. Youngs was also part of the Six Nations winning teams of 2017 and 2020.
His 100th cap came in the final game of the 2020 Six Nations against Italy. Youngs scored twice in that game and secured England the Six Nations title. It was really the perfect 100th cap for the Tigers man.