From Jonah Lomu to Bryan Habana: Top try scorers in the Rugby World Cup

Representing your country at a Rugby World Cup is a rare feat for most rugby players, let alone scoring a try at the global showpiece. But of course, there are always exceptional players and this list is certainly full of them.

Jonah Lomu - 15 RWC Tries

A larger-than-life figure, Lomu was rugby's first global superstar, with his size, speed and power drawing millions of new fans to the game.

The winger was just 20 years old when travelled to South Africa with the All Blacks squad for the 1995 RWC. Lomu scooped two tries against Ireland, another against Scotland then four against England in the semi-final, including his famous bulldozing of Mike Catt.

Lomu's aura only grew in the years that followed, but such was New Zealand's talent that he was competing for places with Christian Cullen and Tana Umaga at the 1999 RWC. Despite this, the number 11  would go on to score eight tries to be the top try scorer for the second consecutive World Cup. Lomu's final two tries came in their famous semi-final loss to France.

Given the iconic New Zealander's 15 tries came from only two World Cups, he tops this list of World Cup superstars.

Bryan Habana - 15 RWC tries

Ever since he scored with his first touch of the ball in international rugby against then-World Champions England, Habana was a mainstay of the Springboks backline. 

Following in the footsteps of 1995 World Cup great Chester Williams, Habana scored four tries in his first-ever RWC fixture against Samoa in the 2007 edition. Scooping up two more against the United States and then Argentina in the semi-finals, the dynamic runner finished as the tournament's leading try scorer and a World Champion. Later, he was named World Rugby Player of the Year.

But the 2011 RWC was a disappointment for the defending champions, who narrowly lost to Australia in the quarter-finals. Habana added just two tries to his tally. 

The pool stages of the 2015 RWC saw the winger score five tires, including a hat-trick against the United States before the Boks crashed out against eventual winners New Zealand.

Drew Mitchell - 14 RWC tries

A talisman of the Wallaby backline, Mitchell was never the quickest or biggest but had an eye for space coupled with tenacious defending. He showed these qualities at the newly formed Western Force in 2007, earning him a place in the Australian RWC squad later that year.

The utility back would go on to score seven tries - three off the right wing, two off the left and two from the bench before England knocked them out in the quarter-finals.

Mitchell was initially ruled out of the 2011 RWC after an ankle dislocation and broken bone, but made a near-miraculous recovery to make the squad. The New South Wales native scored against the USA and Russia, but injured his hamstring in the final pool match, seeing him sidelined for the rest of the World Cup.

With Mitchell moving to France for a Toulon contract, he wasn't eligible to play for the Wallabies but he became one of the first beneficiaries of Giteau's Law and was pulled into Australia's 2015 RWC squad. He picked up right where he left off, scoring a brace against Uruguay to become the top try scorer in the gold jersey at World Cups. For good measure, he scored another double in the quarters against Scotland.

Doug Howlett - 13 RWC tries

It makes sense that New Zealand's most prolific try scorer also makes this elite list. In his very first RWC outing in 2003, Howlett grabbed a brace of tries in each of the pool games against Italy, Tonga and Wales. After being beaten by Australia in the semis, Howlett picked up his seventh in the third-place playoff win over France.

At the 2007 RWC, the winger scored a hat-trick against Italy in the first pool match. Clearly in red-hot form, Howlett added three more in the pool stages, overtaking Cullen's All-Black try-scoring record and moving his tally to 48. Unfortunately for Howlett and the All Blacks, they would come unstuck against France once again, this time in the quarters.

Adam Ashley-Cooper - 12 RWC tries

The original Mr Versitile for Australia, Ashley-Cooper played every backline position except flyhalf over his four World Cups. In the 2007 edition, he scored his first World Cup try in the 91-3 routing of Japan from the right wing, then crashed over the line playing at outside centre against Fiji.

Ashley-Cooper then picked up five tries in the 2011 RWC, including a hat-trick against the USA, helping the Wallabies reach the semi-finals where they came unstuck eventual champions New Zealand.

The Sydney native saved his best for last at the 2015 RWC, scoring the opening try in the Wallabies narrow win over Scotland in the quarter-finals, then carding a hat-trick of tries against Argentina in the semis to earn the man of the match award. 

Sporting the mature salt-and-pepper look, Ashley-Cooper joined fellow Wallaby legend George Gregan as the only other Australian to feature in four World Cups when he travelled to Japan for the 2019 tournament. He scored his last try in the gold jersey in a losing effort to Wales in the pool stages, then earned his final Wallaby cap off the bench against Uruguay a week later. The talented James O'Connor was the preferred choice in the matchday 23 in the quarters, where they were trounced by England.