During England’s Rugby World Cup match against Samoa, Farrell surpassed Wilkinson’s record of 1,179 points.
Owen Farrell has eclipsed Jonny Wilkinson as England’s all-time leading international points scorer.
During England’s World Cup match against Samoa in Lille, the Saracens fly half surpassed Wilkinson’s tally of 1,179 points. He had missed an early chance to break the record when his conversion attempt from near the left touchline after Ollie Chessum’s ninth-minute try drifted wide, but the 32-year-old did it on 17 minutes by slotting a simple penalty and moving to 1,181 points, receiving a congratulatory slap on the back from Jamie George on his way back to halfway.
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Farrell made his England debut at inside center against Scotland in 2012, kicking two penalties and converting one.
In 2019, he was named captain of his side, succeeding hooker Dylan Hartley, and led them to the World Cup final in Japan.
Steve Borthwick named him captain again for this year’s competition, despite the fact that the Saracens playmaker was suspended for England’s opening two World Cup games against Argentina and Japan.
After serving a four-match ban for a high tackle, Farrell returned to the starting lineup against Chile before being named captain against Samoa, with Borthwick praising his leadership abilities.
“Owen has been an incredible leader for this team,” stated Borthwick. “He’s been a tremendously influential off-the-field leader.” He has been great in guiding this team through the early rounds of the World Cup.
“First and foremost, the example he sets is unparalleled, and he is someone you can look up to.” Second, his ability to pull all of those people together and make them all influential leaders inside the group is a real skill. It’s a fantastic skill, in my opinion. I think he did it well.”
Farrell has made 109 appearances for his country, while Wilkinson has made 91.
While Farrell has more points for England, Wilkinson leads the overall Test point scorers list. Both players have represented the British & Irish Lions, with their points for the quadrennial tourist being added to their overall totals.
Wilkinson’s 67 Lions points push him to 1,246, trailing only Dan Carter.
The New Zealander’s 1,598 is still a long way off, but at 31, Farrell has lots of years left at the highest level.
Ireland’s Johnny Sexton, who will retire at the end of this tournament, surpassed Neil Jenkins for fourth place earlier in the competition against Tonga, breaking Ronan O’Gara’s national record in the process.
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