Six Nations: 14 all-time individual records that could be broken or equalled this year

Jared Wright
Records are made to be broken, and we are bound to see a few shattered during the 2023 Six Nations. Tallies posted by legends of the game, including Brian O'Driscoll, Sergio Parisse, Jonny Wilkinson and Ronan O'Gara, are under threat this year. We delve into the Six Nations' record books and look at the players who could break records in the Championship this year.

Owen Farrell, George North and Jonathan Sexton could all break Six Nations records in 2023.

Records are made to be broken, and we are bound to see a few shattered during the 2023 Six Nations. Tallies posted by legends of the game, including Brian O’Driscoll, Sergio Parisse, Jonny Wilkinson and Ronan O’Gara, are under threat this year.

We delve into the Six Nations’ record books and look at the players who could break records in the Championship this year.

Six Nations appearance record

Alun Wyn Jones is the most capped Wales player in the Six Nations but will become the joint most capped player in the Championship if he features in all five Tests. His current tally of 64 is five shy of Azzurri great Parisse, while a single appearance will move Jones to second overall level with Ireland great O’Driscoll.

Jason Leonard’s record of 54 Championship appearances for England could be beaten by Ben Youngs during the tournament, with the scrum-half currently on 52.

Stuart Hogg (51) could become Scotland‘s most-capped player in the Championship, as he is just four appearances short of Ross Ford (55).

Six Nations all-time points leaders

O’Gara (557) and Wilkinson (546) could be displaced from first and second place on the all-time points scorers leaderboard in the Championship.

Last year, Johnny Sexton scored 35 points in his four games – his lowest Championship tally since 2019 – but if he managed to equal that tally, he would move ahead of both O’Gara and Wilkinson, becoming Ireland’s top points scorer in the history of the Six Nations as well as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. He enters the 2023 Six Nations with 531 points.

Owen Farrell (500) will need a far bigger tally to move ahead of the legendary fly-halves, needing 57 points to topple O’Gara and 46 for Wilkinson. 2019 was the last time Farrell scored more than 57 in the Six Nations.

Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny (417) could become his nation’s top scorer in the tournament if he crosses the half-century mark, moving ahead of Stephen Jones (467).

Most conversions and penalties

Sexton (92) currently holds the record for the most conversions in the competition’s history, but Wilkinson (89) could see his record for England be bettered by Farrell (82).

Farrell (101) and Sexton (101) will also be chasing their predecessors’ successful penalties tallies, with Wilkinson (105) in second place and O’Gara (109) topping the list.

Halfpenny (98) needs three more to move ahead of former fly-half Jones (100) in the same category.

Most tries scored

O’Driscoll scored the last of his 26 tries in the Six Nations against Wales in 2013, and his record has looked unbeatable ever since.

A decade from O’Driscoll’s last Six Nations try, George North (22) has emerged as the first real contender to better O’Driscoll’s tally. It will be a big ask for the 30-year-old as he needs five tries to top the leaderboard.

North has yet to score more than three in a Six Nations tournament, but even one will be enough to become Wales’ stand-alone top try scorer in Six Nations history. He currently shares the record with Shane Williams.

Over in Italy, Tommy Allan (6) needs two tries to become Azzurri’s top try scorer as he sits one shy of Parisse and Mirco Bergamasco’s joint record of seven.

Most Player of the Championship awards

Another O’Driscoll record could be equalled but not broken this year by two players, namely Antoine Dupont and Hogg.

O’Driscoll won the Player of the Championship award in 2007 and 2007, adding a third in 2009. He is the only player to have won the gong on three occasions, but that could change in 2023.

Hogg won the award in 2016 and 2017, while Dupont claimed the accolade in 2020 and 2022.

Most appearances in the Six Nations

69 – Sergio Parisse (Italy)

65 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)

64 – Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

64 – Rory Best (Ireland)

63 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

60 – Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)

Most points scored in the Six Nations

557 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

546 – Jonny Wilkinson (England)

531 – Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

500 – Owen Farrell (England)

467 – Stephen Jones (Wales)

Most tries scored in the Six Nations

26 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)

24 – Ian Smith (Scotland)

22 – Shane Williams (Wales)

22 – George North (Wales)

18 – Gareth Edwards (Wales)

18 – Rory Underwood (England)

18 – Cyril Lowe (England)

Most penalties in the Six Nations

109 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

105 – Jonny Wilkinson (England)

101 – Owen Farrell (England)

101 – Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

100 – Stephen Jones (Wales)

Most conversions in the Six Nations

92 – Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

89 – Jonny Wilkinson (England)

82 – Owen Farrell (England)

81 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

69 – Stephen Jones (Wales)

Most Player of the Championship Awards

3 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)

2 – Antoine Dupont (France)

2 – Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

READ MORE: Six Nations: The 20 best players in the 2023 Championship