England national rugby union team - Notable players

Notable players

·         Four former England representatives have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, and Wavell Wakefield.

·         Wavell Wakefield represented England in 31 Tests between 1920 and 1927, including 13 Tests as captain. He was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924. Playing as flanker, Wakefield introduced new elements to back row tactics which beforehand concentrated on the set piece. He became a Member of Parliament in 1935, and was knighted in 1944. He became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first Baron Wakefield of Kendal.

·         Between 1975 and 1982, Bill Beaumont represented England in 34 Tests. Playing at lock, he was captain between 1978 and 1982 in 21 Tests including the 1980 Grand Slam — England's first since 1957. Later that year, he captained the British Lions to South Africa - the first time an Englishman had captained the Lions since 1930. Furthermore, Beaumont represented the Barbarians FC on fifteen occasions.

·         The youngest ever England captain at 22, Will Carling represented England in 72 Tests, and as captain 59 times between 1988 and 1996. He was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992. He also led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the Barbarians FC. His playing talents were not as flashy as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at centre on the selection sheet. On merit alone it is quite possible he would already be in the Hall of Fame were it not for some outspoken tendencies of his with respect to the English RFU committee ("Old Farts"), who may as a result be reluctant to acknowledge his achievements. He was awarded the OBE in 1991.

·         Described as arguably "the greatest forward" to play for England,^[91] Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and eight Tests for the British and Irish Lions.^[92] He first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions. He captained the Lions to South Africa in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England. He became England's most successful ever captain. He became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in Australia in 2001. He retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and World Cup victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager.

·         Jason Leonard, also known as "The Fun Bus", appeared 114 times for England at prop, which was the world record for international appearances for a national team until 2005, when it was surpassed by Australia's scrum-half George Gregan. He was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but avenged this twelve years later, coming on as a substitute for Phil Vickery in England's victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final appearance. He also went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times.

Individual records

·         The record for Test career points for England is held by Jonny Wilkinson with 1172 points. The record for tries is held by Rory Underwood with 49 tries; Underwood is also England's most capped back with 85 caps. The most capped England player is former prop Jason Leonard who made 114 appearances over his 14-year career. England's youngest ever Test player was Colin Laird who was 18 years and 134 days old when he played against Wales in 1927.