Springboks: Makazole Mapimpi’s hat-trick rockets him up South Africa’s all-time try scorers list
Springboks winger Bryan Habana, scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen and speedster Makazole Mapimpi all feature in the top five.
The Springboks have had their fair share of try-scoring merchants over the years, most notably winger Bryan Habana who tops the all-time list.
Not only is Habana South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer in Test rugby, he also jointly holds the record for the most tries scored in a single Rugby World Cup (8), along with New Zealand’s Jonah Lomu, Will Jordan and Julian Savea.
Bryan Habana’s Springboks’ try-scoring record
The former flyer crossed for 15 tries in total at Rugby World Cups, a tally only matched by the late great Lomu.
In his 124 Test matches, Habana scored 67 tries for a strike rate better than a try every other game and is far and away the Springboks’ most prolific scorer, retiring from international rugby with 29 tries more than the previous record holder, Joost van der Westhuizen.
Van der Westhuizen’s tally of 38 tries in 89 Springboks‘ Test matches is rather remarkable considering that he played scrum-half. In fact, no other scrum-half in international rugby betters the late Springbok’s tally.
Third on South Africa’s try-scoring list, for now, is former centre and 2007 Rugby World Cup winner Jaque Fourie, who crossed the whitewash 32 times in 72 Test matches. Remarkably, the centre scored a try against every opposition he faced for the Springboks.
