Will Jordan moved past Doug Howlett to become the All Blacks’ all-time leading try scorer with a hat-trick against Italy.
Jordan scored Test tries No 48, 49 and 50 in just his 56th Test to eclipse the long-standing tally of former full-back Howlett as New Zealand pulled away in Wellington.
The 28-year-old blazed into the right corner to complete his hat-trick and hit a half-century overall, with the back three star showing few signs of slowing down.
The New Zealand try record had been a curious one, with a series of All Blacks including Joe Rokocoko and Julian Savea (both scoring 46 times) threatening to break it over the last 20 years but falling short. Beauden Barrett currently has 45 tries.
The versatile Jordan – a regular on the wing and wearing No 15 since his debut – has long been touted as the man to break it, though, since bursting into senior rugby with Tasman and the Crusaders. The outside back gave a nod to the Mako with a shark-fin celebration after the record score.
Jordan is likely to accelerate further up the all-time Test try-scoring charts, too. Japan’s Daisuke Ohata holds the record with 69 tries, although some of his scores were in games with disputed Test status. South Africa’s Bryan Habana registered 67 times in 124 caps for the Springboks.
Jordan’s hat-trick helped New Zealand make it two wins from two under Dave Rennie as they beat the Azzurri 47-17 in Wellington.
Italy’s cause was not helped by a red card for Niccolo Cannone for a second-half headbutt, with Sam Darry, Cam Roigard, Ethan de Groot and Tupou Vaai also scoring for the hosts.
The All Blacks face a mouthwatering meeting with Ireland at Eden Park in their last Nations Championship game of July next week.
