Welsh winger George North will make his 50th Test appearance this weekend, a month-and-a-half shy of his 23rd birthday.
It will be North’s 47th Welsh cap, while his three Lions appearances against Australia in 2013 mean that he’ll be the youngest ever player to make 50 test caps, and by some distance.
North will be 22 years, and 322 days old when he lines out this weekend against France, meaning he’ll absolutely smash the record joint held by Australian Joe Roff and England’s Jonny Wilkinson, which previously stood at 24 years, and 140 days.
Rather than just listing out the youngest ever 50 cap players, we’ve decided to show you how many caps some of these rugby greats had amounted by the time they were 22 years, and 322 days.
Spoiler alert, they’re not even close.
Jonny Wilkinson (34 caps)
Wilkinson was just 18-years-old when he made his debut for England, against Ireland in the 1998 Six Nations. As we all know, Jonny went on to become one of the all-time greats, and could have gone on to earn a fair bit more than his 97 Test caps had injury not robbed him of some of the best years of his career. However, when he was North’s age, he only had a paltry 34 caps to his name.
Sergio Parisse (32 caps)
Another 18-year-old debutant, Parisse has gone on to become one of the most consistent number 8s in world rugby over the last 10 years Now 31-years-old, he’ll be making his 111th Test appearance this weekend against Scotland. The picture above shows him on his debut for Italy against New Zealand in 2002, chasing down Christian Cullen, who we’ll talk about shortly.
Joe Roff (31 caps)
Up until now, Aussie legend Roff held the record with Jonny WIlkinson as the youngest ever 50 cap man in rugby. The winger ran in 30 tries in his 86 test caps between 1995 and 2004, and was a key part of the Australian side that won the World Cup in 1999.
Christian Cullen (29 caps)
Cullen was a try machine in his early days. He ran in a hat-trick on his debut against Samoa (above), as a 20-year old, and reached his 50th cap at just 24 years and 159 days, which will be the fourth youngest of all-time once George North togs out this weekend. However, injury ruined his career, and he only managed to win eight more caps for his country after that. Still, 46 tries in 58 caps tells its own story.
George Smith (24 caps)
The youngest player ever to reach 100 Test caps at 29 years and 14 days, Smith was consistently one of the first players on an Aussie teamsheet from the moment he made his debut in November 2000. He went on to win 111 Test caps, the last of which coming against the Lions in 2013. Here he is getting yellow carded during his international debut against France.
Dan Carter (24 caps)
The best out-half of the last decade may have been an instant hit, but his surge to the international scene pales in comparison to that of North. Carter hit the magic mark of 100 caps in the Autumn Internationals last year, and he’s set to end his international career at the end of this World Cup.
Brian O’Driscoll (23 caps)
Yep, George North has more international caps before the age of 23 than both Brian O’Driscoll and Dan Carter had at that age combined. Here’s BOD on his international debut against Australia as a 20-year-old in 1999, and he’d go on to make 141 Test caps, a record, although that looks set to be overtaken by Richie McCaw before the end of the year.
Richie McCaw (20 caps)
Barring injury, Richie McCaw will pass Brian O’Driscoll’s Test cap record of 141 before the year’s out (he’s currently on 137), and as a forward, that’s an incredible feat. He made his debut at Lansdowne Road against Ireland in 2001, where he picked up the man-of-the-match. He had 20 international caps by the age of 23, showing just how explosive George North’s career has been to date. Here he is that afternoon at Lansdowne, getting to grips with Kevin Maggs.
Jonah Lomu (20 caps)
In terms of physique, North is certainly in the same bracket as Lomu. However, it’s scary to think that the Welshman has more than double the number of caps that the All Black great had at that age. As we know, Lomu’s career was cut short through a kidney disorder, but he remains and always will be one of the most iconic rugby players of all-time.
Bryan Habana (15 caps)
The further down this list we go, the greater the context of North’s achievement becomes. The South African speedster recently passed the 100 Test landmark, and has ran in a staggering 57 tries in 106 games for the Springboks. 15 caps as a man just shy of 23-years-old is nothing to dismiss, but it really does pale in comparison to the Welshman.
George Gregan (10 caps)
Arguably the best scrum-half of all time, Gregan’s 139 international appearances have him as the second most capped Test player of all-time, but he had a long way to go when he was North’s age, with just 10 caps to his name at the time. Here he as a a much younger man, and with a hell of a lot more hair than we’re used to.
Paul O’Connell (4 caps)
Naturally, forwards break onto the scene much later than backs, but it’s worth mentioning anyway, when you consider that O’Connell has recently passed the 100 cap mark. Paulie made his debut for Ireland against Wales in the 2002 Six Nations, scoring a try in the hammering at Lansdowne Road. He may have only been 22 when he broke onto the International scene, but going by this picture from the game, he looked as old and fearsome as he is today. Did we mention that we love him?
Martin Johnson (1 cap)
Yep, England’s fearless leader for so many years had just a solitary cap by the time he celebrated his 23rd birthday. In fact, he had only been called up for that game at the very last second after injury to Wade Dooley. As we know, he went on to have a decent career, winning the World Cup, two Grand Slams, two Heineken Cups, and captaining the Lions twice.
Shane Williams (0 caps)
This one is probably the most staggering. The absolute godfather of modern Welsh rugby, Williams only (yeah, only) made his Test debut at 22 years and 344 days, three weeks and a day older than North will be when he collects cap number 50 this weekend. 60 tries in 91 test caps isn’t much to be sniggering at, mind you.
