List of Rugby World Cup hat-tricks

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Bryan Habana (shown with ball in hand) scored four tries for South Africa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup match against Samoa.

Since the inception of the Rugby World Cup in 1987, a total of 69 players have scored three tries or drop goals (a hat-trick) in a single match.[1] The first player to achieve the feat was Craig Green, who scored four tries in New Zealand's 74–13 victory over Fiji during the 1987 Rugby World Cup. His teammate John Gallagher also scored four tries in this match.[2] Besides Green and Gallagher, 15 players have scored more than three tries in a match; of these, Chris Latham and Josh Lewsey have scored five, while Marc Ellis scored six in New Zealand's 145–17 victory against Japan in 1995.[3] Two of Ellis's teammates, Eric Rush and Jeff Wilson, also scored hat-tricks in this game.[4] Five players have scored a hat-trick of drop goals: Jannie de Beer, Jonny Wilkinson, Juan Martín Hernández, Theuns Kotzé and George Ford. Of these, de Beer scored the most in one match, with five drop goals in South Africa's 44–21 victory over England in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.[5]

Hat-tricks are more likely to occur in the pool stages, where higher ranked teams, such as New Zealand, who have scored fourteen World Cup hat-tricks, face lower ranked opposition, such as Namibia, who have conceded hat-tricks on ten occasions. There have only been seven hat-tricks in the World Cup knockout stages: Chester Williams and Jonah Lomu in 1995,[6][7] de Beer in 1999,[5] Wilkinson in 2003,[8] Julian Savea and Adam Ashley-Cooper in 2015[9][10] and Will Jordan in 2023.

Six players have scored two World Cup hat-tricks, Savea being the only one to have scored both in the same tournament.[9] Of the six teams in the Six Nations and four in the Rugby Championship teams, only Italy have failed to score a hat-trick at the World Cup. Fiji, Namibia and Samoa are the only other teams to score a hat-trick, which were scored by Vereniki Goneva, Kotze and Alesana Tuilagi, respectively. Goneva and Kotze's hat-tricks are the only time players on opposing teams have accomplished this feat in the same match at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[1][11]

Hat-tricks[edit]

Unless noted otherwise, the players listed below scored a hat-trick of tries.

Key
D3 Player scored hat-trick of drop goals
D5 Player scored five drop goals
T4 Player scored four tries
T5 Player scored five tries
T6 Player scored six tries
Rugby World Cup hat-tricks
No. Player Year For Against Stage Result Venue Date
1 Craig GreenT4 1987  New Zealand  Fiji Pool 74–13 Lancaster Park, Christchurch 27 May 1987
2 John GallagherT4  New Zealand  Fiji Pool 74–13 Lancaster Park, Christchurch 27 May 1987
3 Glen Webbe  Wales  Tonga Pool 29–16 FMG Stadium, Palmerston North 29 May 1987
4 Mike Harrison  England  Japan Pool 60–7 Concord Oval, Sydney 30 May 1987
5 John Jeffrey  Scotland  Romania Pool 55–28 Carisbrook, Dunedin 2 June 1987
6 Didier Camberabero  France  Zimbabwe Pool 70–12 Eden Park, Auckland 2 June 1987
7 Rodolphe Modin  France  Zimbabwe Pool 70–12 Eden Park, Auckland 2 June 1987
8 Ieuan EvansT4  Wales  Canada Pool 40–9 Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill 3 June 1987
9 Brendan Mullin  Ireland  Tonga Pool 32–9 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 3 June 1987
10 Brian RobinsonT4 1991  Ireland  Zimbabwe Pool 55–11 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 6 October 1991
11 Terry Wright  New Zealand  United States Pool 46–6 Kingsholm, Gloucester 8 October 1991
12 Jean-Baptiste Lafond  France  Fiji Pool 33–9 Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble 8 October 1991
13 Iwan Tukalo  Scotland  Zimbabwe Pool 51–12 Murrayfield, Edinburgh 9 October 1991
14 Gavin HastingsT4 1995  Scotland  Ivory Coast Pool 89–0 Olympia Park, Rustenburg 26 May 1995
15 Gareth Thomas  Wales  Japan Pool 57–10 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 27 May 1995
16 Marc EllisT6  New Zealand  Japan Pool 145–17 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 4 June 1995
17 Eric Rush  New Zealand  Japan Pool 145–17 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 4 June 1995
18 Jeff Wilson  New Zealand  Japan Pool 145–17 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 4 June 1995
19 Chester WilliamsT4  South Africa  Samoa Quarter-final 42–14 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 10 June 1995
20 Jonah LomuT4  New Zealand  England Semi-final 45–29 Newlands, Cape Town 18 June 1995
21 Keith WoodT4 1999  Ireland  United States Pool 53–8 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 2 October 1999
22 Toutai Kefu  Australia  Romania Pool 57–9 Ravenhill, Belfast 3 October 1999
23 Ugo Mola  France  Namibia Pool 47–13 Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux 8 October 1999
24 Jeff Wilson  New Zealand  Italy Pool 101–3 Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield 14 October 1999
25 Jannie de BeerD5  South Africa  England Quarter-final 44–21 Stade de France, Saint-Denis 24 October 1999
26 Yannick Jauzion 2003  France  Fiji Pool 61–18 Lang Park, Brisbane 11 October 2003
27 Joost van der Westhuizen  South Africa  Uruguay Pool 72–6 Subiaco Oval, Perth 11 October 2003
28 Martín Gaitán  Argentina  Namibia Pool 67–14 Central Coast Stadium, Gosford 14 October 2003
29 Mils MuliainaT4  New Zealand  Canada Pool 68–6 Docklands Stadium, Melbourne 17 October 2003
30 Mat Rogers  Australia  Romania Pool 90–8 Lang Park, Brisbane 18 October 2003
31 Matt Giteau  Australia  Namibia Pool 142–0 Adelaide Oval 25 October 2003
32 Chris LathamT5  Australia  Namibia Pool 142–0 Adelaide Oval 25 October 2003
33 Lote Tuqiri  Australia  Namibia Pool 142–0 Adelaide Oval 25 October 2003
34 Brian Liebenberg  France  United States Pool 41–14 Wollongong Showground 31 October 2003
35 Josh LewseyT5  England  Uruguay Pool 111–13 Lang Park, Brisbane 2 November 2003
36 Jonny WilkinsonD3  England  France Semi-final 24–7 Telstra Stadium, Sydney 16 November 2003
37 Doug Howlett 2007  New Zealand  Italy Pool 76–14 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 8 September 2007
38 Rocky Elsom  Australia  Japan Pool 91–3 Stade de Gerland, Lyon 8 September 2007
39 Bryan HabanaT4  South Africa  Samoa Pool 59–7 Parc des Princes, Paris 9 September 2007
40 Vincent Clerc  France  Namibia Pool 87–10 Stadium Municipal, Toulouse 16 September 2007
41 Ally Hogg  Scotland  Romania Pool 42–0 Murrayfield, Edinburgh 18 September 2007
42 Drew Mitchell  Australia  Fiji Pool 55–12 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier 23 September 2007
43 Joe Rokocoko  New Zealand  Romania Pool 85–8 Stadium Municipal, Toulouse 29 September 2007
44 Juan Martín HernándezD3  Argentina  Ireland Pool 30–15 Parc des Princes, Paris 30 September 2007
45 Theuns KotzéD3 2011  Namibia  Fiji Pool 25–49 Rotorua International Stadium 10 September 2011
46 Vereniki GonevaT4  Fiji  Namibia Pool 49–25 Rotorua International Stadium 10 September 2011
47 Alesana Tuilagi  Samoa  Namibia Pool 49–12 Rotorua International Stadium 14 September 2011
48 Vincent Clerc  France  Canada Pool 46–19 McLean Park, Napier 18 September 2011
49 Adam Ashley-Cooper  Australia  United States Pool 67–5 Wellington Regional Stadium 23 September 2011
50 Mark Cueto  England  Romania Pool 67–3 Otago Stadium, Dunedin 24 September 2011
51 Chris Ashton  England  Romania Pool 67–3 Otago Stadium, Dunedin 24 September 2011
52 Scott Williams  Wales  Namibia Pool 81–7 Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth 26 September 2011
53 Zac GuildfordT4  New Zealand  Canada Pool 79–15 Wellington Regional Stadium 2 October 2011
54 Cory Allen 2015  Wales  Uruguay Pool 54–9 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 20 September 2015
55 JP Pietersen  South Africa  Samoa Pool 46–6 Villa Park, Birmingham 26 September 2015
56 Julian Savea  New Zealand  Georgia Pool 43–10 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 2 October 2015
57 Bryan Habana  South Africa  United States Pool 64–0 Olympic Stadium, London 7 October 2015
58 Nick Easter  England  Uruguay Pool 60–3 City of Manchester Stadium 10 October 2015
59 Jack Nowell  England  Uruguay Pool 60–3 City of Manchester Stadium 10 October 2015
60 Julian Savea  New Zealand  France Quarter-final 62–13 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 17 October 2015
61 Adam Ashley-Cooper  Australia  Argentina Semi-final 29–15 Twickenham, London 25 October 2015
62 Kotaro Matsushima 2019  Japan  Russia Pool 30–10 Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu 20 September 2019
63 Julián Montoya  Argentina  Tonga Pool 28–12 Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka 28 September 2019
64 Cobus Reinach  South Africa  Canada Pool 66–7 Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe 8 October 2019
65 George Horne  Scotland  Russia Pool 61–0 Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi 9 October 2019
66 Josh Adams  Wales  Fiji Pool 29–17 Oita Stadium, Ōita 9 October 2019
67 George FordD3 2023  England  Argentina Pool 27–10 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 9 September 2023
68 Cobus Reinach  South Africa  Romania Pool 76–0 Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux 17 September 2023
69 Makazole Mapimpi  South Africa  Romania Pool 76–0 Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux 17 September 2023
70 Damian Penaud  France  Namibia Pool 96–0 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 21 September 2023
71 Henry ArundellT5  England  Chile Pool 71–0 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille 23 September 2023
72 Aaron Smith  New Zealand  Italy Pool 96–17 Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu 29 September 2023
73 Darcy GrahamT4  Scotland  Romania Pool 84–0 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille 30 September 2023
74 Leicester Fainga'anuku  New Zealand  Uruguay Pool 73–0 Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu 5 October 2023
75 Louis Rees-Zammit  Wales  Georgia Pool 43–19 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes 7 October 2023
76 Mateo Carreras  Argentina  Japan Pool 39–27 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes 8 October 2023
77 Will Jordan  New Zealand  Argentina Semi-final 44–6 Stade de France, Saint-Denis 20 October 2023

Multiple hat-tricks[edit]

Player Hat-tricks Years
New Zealand Jeff Wilson 2 1995, 1999
France Vincent Clerc 2007, 2011
South Africa Bryan Habana 2007, 2015
New Zealand Julian Savea 2015
Australia Adam Ashley-Cooper 2011, 2015
South Africa Cobus Reinach 2019, 2023

By national team[edit]

Team Scored Conceded
 New Zealand 17 0
 Australia 9 0
 South Africa 9 0
 England 9 2
 France 9 2
 Wales 7 0
 Scotland 6 0
 Argentina 4 3
 Ireland 3 1
 Samoa 1 3
 Japan 1 7
 Fiji 1 7
 Namibia 1 10
 Chile 0 1
 Ivory Coast 0 1
 Georgia 0 2
 Russia 0 2
 Italy 0 3
 Tonga 0 3
 Zimbabwe 0 4
 Canada 0 5
 United States 0 5
 Uruguay 0 6
 Romania 0 10

References[edit]

General

  • "Statsguru / Test matches / Player records / Rugby World Cup / Tries scored: greater than or equal to 3". ESPN Scrum. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  • "Most drop goals – Rugby World Cup". ESPN Scrum. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.

Specific

  1. ^ a b "Fiji 49–25 Namibia". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ^ "New Zealand 74–13 Fiji". World Rugby. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ^ Schofield, Daniel (23 September 2015). "New Zealand will give Namibia 'total respect', says All Blacks head coach". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Japan 17–145 New Zealand". World Rugby. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b Kitson, Robert (25 October 1999). "South Africa 44–21 England". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  6. ^ Hamilton, Tom (25 September 2015). "Chester Williams on his 'almost impossible dream' to become a Springbok". ESPN. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  7. ^ "New Zealand 45–29 England". BBC Sport. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  8. ^ "England into World Cup final". BBC Sport. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  9. ^ a b Pearson, Joseph (18 October 2015). "Records tumble in All Blacks' Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win over France in Cardiff". Stuff NZ. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ^ Kitson, Robert (25 October 2015). "Australia's Adam Ashley-Cooper sees off Argentina with hat-trick". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  11. ^ Dirs, Ben (14 September 2011). "Samoa 49–12 Namibia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 November 2015.