A statistical preview of today’s final GUINNESS Summer Series game between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 2pm).
GUINNESS SUMMER SERIES MATCH: Saturday, September 7
IRELAND v WALES, Aviva Stadium, 2pm (live RTÉ 2/Channel 4/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/IRFU Live Blog)
IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Jean Kleyn (Munster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster).
Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen’s University/Ulster), Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster).
WALES: Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); George North (Ospreys), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues); Rhys Patchell (Scarlets), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues); Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (capt), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Dragons).
Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints), Liam Williams (Saracens).
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes, Luke Pearce (both England)
Television Match Official: Graham Hughes (England)
Head-To-Head:
Played – 128
Ireland Won – 52
Wales Won – 69
Drawn – 7
Ireland v Wales – Results Since 2000:
2000: Wales won 23-19, Lansdowne Road
2001: Ireland won 36-6, Millennium Stadium
2002: Ireland won 54-10, Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 25-24, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-12, Lansdowne Road
2004: Ireland won 36-15, Lansdowne Road
2005: Wales won 32-20, Millennium Stadium
2006: Ireland won 31-5, Lansdowne Road
2007: Ireland won 19-9, Millennium Stadium
2008: Wales won 16-12, Croke Park
2009: Ireland won 17-15, Millennium Stadium
2010: Ireland won 27-12, Croke Park
2011: Wales won 19-13, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 22-10, Westpac Stadium
2012: Wales won 23-21, Aviva Stadium
2013: Ireland won 30-22, Millennium Stadium
2014: Ireland won 26-3, Aviva Stadium
2015: Wales won 23-16, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-21, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 16-10, Aviva Stadium
2016: 16-16 draw, Aviva Stadium
2017: Wales won 22-9, Principality Stadium
2018: Ireland won 37-27, Aviva Stadium
2019: Wales won 25-7, Principality Stadium; Ireland won 22-17, Principality Stadium
Biggest Wins:
Ireland: Points & Margin: 54-10, 2002 Six Nations
Wales: Points: 34-9, 1976 Five Nations; Margin: 29-0, 1907 Four Nations
Individual Records In The Series:
Most Points In A Match: Ireland 22 (David Humphreys 2002); Wales 20 (Neil Jenkins 1998, Gareth Anscombe 2019)
Most Tries In A Match: Ireland 3 (Robert Montgomery 1887); Wales 3 (Johnnie Williams 1907, 1910; Bryn Williams 1920)
Most Appearances – Ireland v Wales:
17 – Rory Best
16 – Brian O’Driscoll
14 – Mike Gibson, Gethin Jenkins, Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara
13 – Jamie Heaslip, Donncha O’Callaghan
12 – Ieuan Evans, Alun Wyn Jones, Rob Kearney, Willie John McBride, Phil Orr, Jonathan Sexton
11 – Billy Bancroft, Gordon D’Arcy, John Hayes, Robert Jones, Stephen Jones, Moss Keane, Donal Lenihan, Brendan Mullin, Jamie Roberts, Fergus Slattery, Peter Stringer
Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Wales:
113 – Neil Jenkins
107 – Stephen Jones
100 – Ronan O’Gara
92 – Jonathan Sexton
84 – David Humphreys
74 – Leigh Halfpenny
57 – Eric Elwood
54 – Phil Bennett
52 – Michael Kiernan
Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Wales:
8 – Johnnie Williams
7 – Brian O’Driscoll
6 – Gerald Davies, Ieuan Evans, Teddy Morgan
5 – Gareth Edwards
4 – Keith Earls, Rusty Gabe, Jacob Stockdale
Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations:
Won 15-13 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 56-19 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 37-27 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Won 30-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-15 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 18-9 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 26-21 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 20-16 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 54-7 v Italy neutral (Autumn Test)
Won 28-17 v Argentina home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 16-9 v New Zealand home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 57-14 v USA home (GUINNESS Series)
Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Wales – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations:
Won 34-7 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Lost 12-6 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 37-27 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Won 38-14 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 14-13 v France home (Six Nations)
Won 22-20 v South Africa neutral (Summer Test)
Won 23-10 v Argentina away (Summer Series)
Won 30-12 v Argentina away (Summer Series)
Won 21-10 v Scotland home (Autumn Series)
Won 9-6 v Australia home (Autumn Series)
Won 74-24 v Tonga home (Autumn Series)
Won 20-11 v South Africa home (Autumn Series)
Won 24-19 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 26-15 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 21-13 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 18-11 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 25-7 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Lost 33-19 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 13-6 v England home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 22-17 v Ireland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Ireland – Most-Capped Players:
133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
119 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
91 Rob Kearney
90 Cian Healy
83 Jonathan Sexton
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
77 Keith Earls
73 Conor Murray
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Sean Cronin
69 Mike Gibson
Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
1083 Ronan O’Gara
761 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie
Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O’Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Rob Kearney
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan
Wales – Most-Capped Players:
129 Gethin Jenkins
127 Alun Wyn Jones
104 Stephen Jones
100 Gareth Thomas
100 Martyn Williams
95 Adam Jones
94 Colin Charvis
94 Mike Phillips
94 Jamie Roberts
92 Gareth Llewellyn
87 Neil Jenkins
87 Shane Williams
85 George North
81 Leigh Halfpenny
81 James Hook
76 Dwayne Peel
75 Jonathan Davies
75 Ryan Jones
Wales – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
1049 Neil Jenkins
917 Stephen Jones
716 Leigh Halfpenny
352 James Hook
351 Dan Biggar
304 Paul Thorburn
290 Shane Williams
211 Arwel Thomas
Wales – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
58 Shane Williams
40 Gareth Thomas
38 George North
33 Ieuan Evans
22 Colin Charvis
20 Gerald Davies
20 Gareth Edwards
20 Tom Shanklin
World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:
1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
951 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
848 Owen Farrell (England)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:
67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)
40 George North (38-Wales, 2-Lions)
(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)
The ‘100 Caps’ Club:
148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
140 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
136 Alun Wyn Jones (127-Wales, 9-Lions)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
121 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
120 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
119 Rory Best (Ireland)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
115 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
111 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Will Genia (Australia)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Victor Gresev (Russia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)