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🏉David Campese

Ranked #12 of 12 · Rugby Union

#12GOAT Rankings
AustraliaCountry
1982-1996Career

Why they rank here

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.

Career profile

Test tries
64
Test caps
101
Rugby World Cups
1
Years holding try record
13

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