Jonny Wilkinson
David Campese
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
David Campese leads 1 of 2 categories. Our all-time ranking places Jonny Wilkinson at #6 and David Campese at #12.
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The case for Jonny Wilkinson
The fly-half whose right boot won a World Cup and whose obsessive perfectionism reshaped the goal-kicking craft. Wilkinson is best remembered for the drop goal, struck with his weaker foot in the final minute of extra time, that beat Australia in the 2003 final and made England the only Northern Hemisphere side ever to be world champions. But he was far more than one kick: a ferocious tackler for a number 10, a metronomic marksman, and the 2003 World Rugby Player of the Year. He amassed 1,246 Test points across England and the Lions, second only to Dan Carter, and holds the record for most drop goals in international rugby with 36. Injuries robbed him of years at his peak, yet he returned repeatedly, and his combination of icy big-match temperament and relentless practice made him the defining Northern Hemisphere player of his generation.
The case for David Campese
The great entertainer of the amateur-into-professional transition, and for thirteen years the holder of the world Test try record. Campese scored 64 tries in 101 Tests, a mark that stood as the international record until 2006, and he did it with an audacity — the swerving 'goose step', the outrageous behind-the-back pass — that made him one of rugby's most watchable and infuriating players. He was the star of Australia's 1991 World Cup triumph, named player of the tournament, and his flick pass to set up a try against New Zealand in that semi-final is part of the sport's folklore. A wing or fullback who prized adventure over caution, he sometimes gambled and lost, but his willingness to attempt the impossible defined an attacking philosophy and inspired a generation. Few players have combined statistical achievement with pure showmanship as completely as Campese.