Rugby World Cup: Owen Farrell breaks Jonny Wilkinson's England points scoring record
- Published
Owen Farrell has broken Jonny Wilkinson's record to become England's all-time leading points scorer.
Farrell kicked an 18th-minute penalty in England's World Cup win over Samoa in Pool D to surpass Wilkinson's career haul of 1,179 points.
The England captain could have claimed the record earlier in the game but missed a conversion attempt following Ollie Chessum's opening try in Lille.
Farrell booted a second penalty and a conversion to take his tally to 1,186.
He also became the first man in World Cup history to be timed out as he took longer than the allotted 60 seconds on the 'shot clock' to kick a third penalty.
Wilkinson won 91 caps for England from 1998 to 2011, while Farrell was playing in his 109th Test after making his debut in 2012.
England's all-time leading points scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Caps | Points |
Owen Farrell (2012- ) | 109 | 1,186 |
Jonny Wilkinson (1998-2011) | 91 | 1,179 |
Paul Grayson (1995-2004) | 32 | 400 |
Rob Andrew (1985-1997) | 71 | 396 |
George Ford (2014- ) | 89 | 365 |
The 32-year-old Saracens back succeeded Dylan Hartley as England captain under Eddie Jones in 2019.
He retained his role as skipper under Jones' successor Steve Borthwick but had to miss England's opening two games of this World Cup after being suspended for a dangerous tackle during the warm-up win over Wales in August.
Farrell returned to the side in the win over Chile, stepping in at fly-half before moving to inside centre for the game with Samoa.
Taking British and Irish Lions points into account, Wilkinson remains ahead of Farrell on the all-time international points list for now, but the gap is closing.
New Zealand's Dan Carter leads the way on 1,598 points with Wilkinson, who won six caps for the Lions, second with a haul of 1,246.
Farrell, also capped six times by the Lions, now trails Wilkinson by 26 points.
All-time international leading points scorers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Player | Country | Caps | Points |
Dan Carter | New Zealand | 112 | 1,598 |
Jonny Wilkinson | England and British & Irish Lions | 97 | 1,246 |
Owen Farrell | England and British & Irish Lions | 115 | 1,220 |
Johnny Sexton | Ireland and British & Irish Lions | 122 | 1,100 |
Neil Jenkins | Wales and British & Irish Lions | 91 | 1,090 |
Andy's son who carved his own legacy
Owen Farrell (left) holds the Calcutta Cup with his father and then-England assistant coach Andy (right) after making his Test debut against Scotland in 2012
Farrell may have been widely recognised as the son of dual-code England international Andy when he first emerged on the scene, but he has gone on to create his own legacy.
His tenacious defence, careful game management, accurate boot and leadership have led to a glittering professional career for club and country.
The first of his three nominations for the World Rugby Player of the Year award came in 2012 after an impressive debut season at international level.
He has won three Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2016, and captained his country in the 2019 World Cup final after a starring role in their thrilling semi-final victory over defending champions New Zealand.
Apart from four loan appearances for Bedford Blues, Farrell has spent his entire club career with English heavyweights Saracens.
He has been influential in their domestic and European dominance with six Premiership titles and three Champions Cup victories.
Having already achieved so much, he is at an age where he could stretch England's point-scoring record much further and still have several successful years at the highest level.