Will Jordan has become the All Blacks’ all-time leading test try scorer, completing a hat-trick as New Zealand beat Italy 47-17 in Wellington on Saturday night.
The wing crossed for his 48th, 49th and 50th test tries in just his 56th appearance for the All Blacks, moving past Doug Howlett, who had held the record on 49 tries since he last played for New Zealand in 2007. Jordan reached the milestone in fewer tests than any of the players he passed, capping a scoring run that has been building since he debuted in 2020.
His first try came before halftime, when a determined Italy trailed just 14-10. The record breaker arrived after the break, with Jordan scoring twice inside three minutes to pull the game away from a side that had made the All Blacks work hard for their points.
“It’s special, I guess,” Jordan said after the match, as reported by 1News. “I think back to when I was a kid practising my chip and chase in the backyard. To be here tonight is hugely humbling.”
Italy made the first half a genuine contest. The visitors scrummaged strongly, defended with discipline and kept the scoreboard within reach, and at the break the All Blacks led by only four points. Tommaso Menoncello and Leonardo Marin scored the Italian tries, with Tommaso Allan and Paolo Garbisi adding the goalkicks.
New Zealand looked a different team in the second half. The forwards took control, the bench added fresh legs and the tries began to flow. Alongside Jordan’s three, Sam Darry, Cam Roigard, Ethan de Groot and Tupou Vaa’i all crossed for the All Blacks, and Ruben Love kicked six conversions to finish with a tidy return from the tee.
For Jordan, the record caps a remarkable few years. He has spent most of the past two seasons playing at fullback for the All Blacks, but shifting back to the wing has not slowed his scoring. Fifty tries in 56 tests is a strike rate close to a try every game, a figure that puts him among the most productive finishers the game has seen at test level.
The record had been coming. Former All Blacks hooker James Parsons predicted it days earlier on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, saying “Will’s back to try-scoring, he’ll be on 50 soon.” Jordan needed only one match to prove him right.
Howlett, who scored his 49 tries between 2000 and 2007, had held the record for close to two decades. He sat above a list of famous All Blacks names, including Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu and Joe Rokocoko, all of whom Jordan has now passed. That Jordan has done it while still in his prime suggests the new mark could stretch a long way before anyone gets near it.
The win was the All Blacks’ second in the new Nations Championship, the competition that brings together the leading sides from the northern and southern hemispheres. It followed an earlier victory over France, who bounced back on the same weekend to beat Australia. New Zealand next face Ireland at Eden Park, a step up in class that will tell the coaching group far more about where this team sits than a comfortable night against Italy.
There was plenty for the coaches to work on despite the healthy margin. The slow start, the scrum troubles early and the gap between the first and second half performances all gave New Zealand something to review before a much tougher assignment arrives. As RNZ and other outlets noted, the All Blacks were made to earn this one before their class told late.
None of that took the shine off the night for Jordan. The 27-year-old from Nelson has quietly gone about building one of the great try-scoring records in New Zealand rugby, and he now stands alone at the top of it. You can read wider coverage of the match at the NZ Herald and Stuff.
The match was played at Wellington’s Hnry Stadium, the ground long known as the Cake Tin, in front of a sold out crowd that had come as much to see whether Jordan could reach the mark as to watch the result. He did not keep them waiting long once the second half began, and the reception when he touched down for number 50 was the loudest of the night.
Jordan’s rise says something about the depth New Zealand can call on in the outside backs. He came into the side as a fullback who could cover the wing, then made himself first choice in both roles through sheer weight of tries. Coaches have moved him around the back three without ever losing the thing he does best, which is finishing chances that other players might not even see.
Where does Will Jordan rank among the great All Blacks finishers, and can anyone catch his new record. Have your say in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job π
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