Rugby is a team sport but that does not mean that individual players do not deserve to be in the limelight for their own impressive accomplishments. In this article, we will show you some of the best player records during the Heineken Champions Cup era.
Find out which players from which teams made history by delivering mind-boggling performances for the exciting Heineken Champions Cup.
PS: Although the Heineken Champions Cup returned in 2018 and stayed there till 2023, it was only the same in name as the organisation was different, so the Heineken era refers to the period between 1995 and 2014, so records from the Heineken era refer to that period only.
Most Tries
Of course, we had to start with the obvious record – the highest number of tries by a single player. The current record-holder is Chris Ashton from England who has scored 41 tries when participating at the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Chris Ashton also holds the records for most tries in a single season. He scored 11 tries for the Saracens. during the 2013-2014 Heineken Champions Cup.
In addition, Chris Ashton is famous for playing at the Heineken Champions Cup for five different teams (Northampton Saints, Saracens, Toulon, Sale Sharks, and Leicester Tigers). No wonder why all these teams wanted him on their side!
Most Goals
Ronan O’Gara is an Irish player who currently holds the records for most goals scored during the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup. O’Gara has scored 488 goals for Munster, and it doesn’t seem like his record will be bested soon as the runner-up for that title, Owen Farrell, has 334 goals so far.
Most Points Overall
The record for most points is again held by Ronan O’Gara. The Irishman has the impressive record of 1,365 points scored at various seasons of the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
O’Gara can relax because this record doesn’t seem to be close to being bested yet again as the player in second place, Stephen Jones, has “only” 869 points and has retired, while the third-place, Owen Farrell, who is still active, has scored 834 points so far.
Most Points Per Season
Diego Dominguez holds the records for most points per season. The rugby player scored 188 points for the French team Stade Français in the 2000-2001 season, and it seems like his impressive record might not be bested soon.
Most Appearances
The player who holds the record for most appearances in both the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup is our usual suspect Ronan O’Gara. It seems like this article is turning into a puff piece for Mr. O’Gara but we simply cannot ignore this track record.
Ronan O’Gara has 110 appearances in both the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup, and they have all been for Munster. This is perhaps the only record that can be bested by another player with Leinster’s Cian Healy having made 105 appearances and counting.
Most Trophies
If you read our article on team records in the Heineken Champions Cup, then you’d know that Toulouse has absolutely dominated the tournament since its very inception, having won four trophies during the Heineken era and one during the European Rugby Champions Cup.
It comes as no surprise then that a Toulouse player also holds the records for most trophies won by a single player. Frenchman Cédric Heymans won four titles with Toulouse. Interestingly, he shares that record with a teammate Frédéric Michalak who also has four titles.
Even more interestingly, there are four more players who have all won four titles each! No, we are not lying, there are indeed that many players who share the record, namely Cian Healy, Isa Nacewa, Johnny Sexton and Devin Toner and they have all achieved that when playing for a single team – the Irish club Leinster.
Bonus: Best Coaches
We know this is an article about impressive personal records of rugby players, but we felt like we couldn’t ignore the equally impressive records of their coaches. We will give special attention to two rugby coaches which stunned the Heineken Champions Cup.
First comes with coach with most wins in the history of Heineken Champions Cup – Guy Novès – who has won the coveted trophy five times with Toulouse (1996, 2003, 2005, 2010). Toulouse holds the record for most titles won and you now know who was behind it.
Another spectacular coach we wanted to shine the light on is Bernard Laporte. Laporte holds the records for coach winning the highest number of consecutive titles, having won three with Toulon in 2013, 2013, and 2015 respectively.