‘There’s no doubt in my mind’ – All Blacks legend makes bold prediction on international try-scoring record
'There's no doubt in my mind' - Israel Dagg makes bold prediction on international try scoring record
Former All Black Israel Dagg has revealed just how far superstar Will Jordan can go as the list of international stars between him and the try-scoring record grows shorter.
Dagg appeared on The Aftermatch with Kirst & Beav to discuss the upcoming Greatest Rivalry tour – a series of matches between the All Blacks and South Africa’s franchise sides, before an almighty four-Test series against the mighty Springboks.
During the podcast, Dagg discussed just how difficult it was to play against the Springboks during his playing days, with players such as Bakkies Botha, Bryan Habana and Fourie du Preez continually keeping him on his toes.
The Springboks of 2026 are very different to the side that Dagg faced in his prime, but are certainly no less dangerous – in fact, many would argue that the current crop are the greatest the nation has ever seen.
Fortunately for Dagg and his countrymen, the All Blacks still possess world-class talent in their backline – one such player being Jordan.
The 28-year-old recently broke the record for the highest number of All Blacks tries in Test rugby history, surpassing Doug Howlett’s total when he scored a hat-trick against Italy in Wellington to make it 50 tries in 56 Test matches before adding his 51st crossing against Ireland a week later.
He remains 18 short of Daisuke Ohata’s international record of 69 tries, who famously retired in 2006 after a 10-year career for Japan. Still, Dagg believes the record will be Jordan’s by the end of his career, saying: “If he remains injury-free, he will break the record. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Leading men’s international Test try-scorers
- Daisuke Ohata, Japan – 69
- Bryan Habana, South Africa – 67
- David Campese, Australia – 64
- Shane Williams, Wales/British and Irish Lions – 60
- Hirotoki Onozawa, Japan – 55
- Akaki Tabutsadze, Georgia – 52
- Will Jordan, New Zealand – 51
- Rory Underwood, England/British and Irish Lions – 50
- Doug Howlett, New Zealand – 49
- George North, Wales/British and Irish Lions – 49
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Will Jordan – Record breaker
Jordan’s ability to get on the end of every promising play is unlike anyone else in world rugby. He’s able to spot the game developing like few others, and works incredibly hard to get to where he needs to be on the field.
“His ability to predict where the ball is, you can’t coach that,” continued Dagg. “You’ve got to have it in you. Your work rate is a big part of it. You’ve got to work your absolute butt off to be in a position to receive that ball.
“He does that extremely well, and you can’t coach unless you have good genetic speed, and he’s got that in ounces, and just an absolute amazing, amazing finisher.
“It doesn’t happen by fluke. He works hard, and obviously the people inside him too, give him a lot of those opportunities to do what Will does, and I’m sure he’d be the first to say that. So yeah, I think the world’s his oyster at the moment.”
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