Rory Best
Ireland
player portrait
Full name Rory David Best
Born August 15, 1982, Craigavon, Northern Ireland
Current age 41 years 217 days
Major teams Barbarians, British and Irish Lions, Ireland A, Munster, Ulster, Ireland
Position Hooker
Height 5 ft 11 in
Weight 233 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 2005-2019 124 102 22 60 12 0 0 0 73 48 3 60.08
Five/Six Nations 2006-2019 64 55 9 25 5 0 0 0 40 21 3 64.84
IRB Rugby World Cup 2007-2019 15 14 1 20 4 0 0 0 10 5 0 66.66

Career statistics
Test debut Ireland v New Zealand at Lansdowne Road, Nov 12, 2005 match details
Last Test Ireland v New Zealand at Tokyo, Oct 19, 2019 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list
Profile

Ulster and Ireland hooker Rory Best followed his elder brother Simon into rugby, playing alongside him for both province and country.

Best was part of the Ireland squad for the Under-21 World Cup in 2003, before making his bow for Ulster in the 2004-05 season. It was during his second season with the province that Best put his hand up for international honours, with five tries during Ulster's Heineken Cup campaign granting him an Ireland debut against New Zealand in the 2005 autumn internationals.

Best was promoted to skipper Ulster during the 2007-08 season, and was selected for Ireland's 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. He played three matches during the tournament as Ireland crashed out at the group stages.

Best's international career was partly spent scrapping with Jerry Flannery of Munster for the Ireland jersey, a trend that continued through to the 2008 autumn internationals as Best started against New Zealand, and Flannery against Argentina.

In 2009 Best played second fiddle to Flannery as Ireland won a Grand Slam, starting one Test against Scotland and appearing from the bench in the others. After captaining two Tests against Canada and the USA in 2009, during the Lions tour, Best was ruled out following neck surgery.

He made a surprise return to training with Ulster in early 2010 and was subsequently included in the extended Ireland squad for the Six Nations. He made a second Rugby World Cup in 2011 - this time as first-choice - and stepped up to captain his country again in the following Six Nations due to an injury to Paul O'Connell.

Best continued to hold down the Ireland No.2 shirt through 2012 and the beginning of 2013 as he laid down a strong case to be selected for the Lions' tour to Australia.

Latest Articles
Rory Best signs new two-year Ulster deal (Nov 26, 2015) Ireland recall Lions for France (Feb 12, 2015) Rory Best hails impact of 'ruthless' Joe Schmidt (Nov 23, 2014) Payne ruled out of Australia clash (Nov 18, 2014) Ireland lose Best for Springboks (Nov 5, 2014) Rory Best news and articles (69) »
Latest Photos
Jan 28, 2016
Sam Warburton, Greig Laidlaw, Rory Best, Dylan Hartley, Guilhem Guirado and Sergio Parisse at the Six Nations launch
Sam Warburton, Greig Laidlaw, Rory Best, Dylan Hartley, Guilhem Guirado and Sergio Parisse at the Six Nations launch
©  Getty Images
Oct 25, 2014
Ulster's Rory Best tries to break through the Toulon defence
Ulster's Rory Best tries to break through the Toulon defence
©  Getty Images
Jan 31, 2014
Ireland's Rory Best and Andrew Trimble in training
Ireland's Rory Best and Andrew Trimble in training
©  PA Photos
Ireland players celebrate their win over Australia
Ireland players celebrate their win over Australia
©  Getty Images
Rory Best rugby photos (23) »

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