Owen Farrell said he had still not processed breaking Jonny Wilkinson’s England points record of 1,179 during the narrow 18-17 win over Samoa on Saturday.
England were outplayed for much of the game in Lille and trailed 17-11 before scrum-half Danny Care burst through for a try which Farrell converted to seal the win.
By that stage England’s captain had already broken the record that World Cup winner Wilkinson set in 91 Tests between 1998 and 2011.
Owen Farrell’s record-breaking tally in numbers 🔥🏴#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/7AAn13py2w
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 7, 2023
Farrell, 32, who was one point adrift of Wilkinson’s total going into the match, had the chance to claim the record when he lined up the conversion for Ollie Chessum’s ninth-minute try but he sent his kick wide.
Nine minutes later, however, he threaded a penalty to move to 1,181, going on to add a further five points to end the match on 1,186.
“I don’t know what it means at the minute,” said Farrell after a nailbiting match.
“Still thinking about the game, still thinking about us. It’ll be like that for (a long time to come) and I’ll think about it later down the line.”
England’s win means they are likely to play Fiji in the quarter-finals in Marseille on October 15.
“What a player he is,” said England coach Steve Borthwick after the Samoa match.
“I know everyone is going to talk about kicking the points but what a phenomenal player and leader.”
Here is the moment Owen Farrell became England’s all-time record points scorer 💪#RWC2023 | #ENGvSAM pic.twitter.com/bg4zXr6gcR
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 7, 2023
Farrell, who was making his 109th England appearance, still trails Wilkinson’s overall Test record of 1,246 points with the former fly-half having reached that tally with his contributions for the British and Irish Lions.
Farrell is on 1,215 for his country and the Lions, and could surpass Wilkinson during the current World Cup.
Ex-New Zealand outside-half Dan Carter holds the world record of 1,598.
England’s top five points scorers:
1,186 Owen Farrell
1,179 Jonny Wilkinson
400 Paul Grayson
396 Rob Andrew
365 George Ford
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP