Who are the top 10 most capped men’s rugby players of all-time?

Earning a place among the top 10 most capped men’s rugby players of all time doesn’t automatically mean you’re one of the all-time greats. But the two things do tend to go hand in hand, seeing as making the list demands playing at the top level for well over a decade. You also have to stay fit, which is no mean fit in the modern game.

Rugby’s record appearance members is packed with players who’ve achieved iconic status for their respective nations, winning numerous World Cups, Rugby Championships, Grand Slams and more along the way. But who’s top of the caps?

Read more: All you the upcoming rugby fixtures from around the world and how to watch them! 

The 10 most capped men’s rugby players of all time

*Denotes still playing

1. Alun Wyn Jones

(FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

• 170 caps (2006-2023)
• Wales (158), British & Irish Lions (12)

It’s not just about the longevity. Alun Wyn Jones was one of the first names on the team sheet for most of his 17 years in the Wales engine room, a player of genuine world class who won three Grand Slams and reached two World Cup semi-finals. The inspirational lock also won 12 Test caps for the British & Irish Lions, a record unequalled in the professional era.

2. Sam Whitelock

(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

• 153 caps (2010-2023)
• New Zealand

No player has made it to 100 Test caps faster than Sam Whitelock, who reached the milestone in just eight years and 67 days. That he lost just eight of those matches speaks volumes for a lock who won two Rugby World Cups (and a mere 11 Rugby Championship titles), and formed a formidable partnership with Brodie Retallick in the All Blacks second row.

3. James Slipper

(Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

• 151 caps (2010-2025)
• Australia

The long-serving Wallabies prop had looked like the player most likely to catch up with Jones’ record – until he announced his international retirement at the end of the 2025 Rugby Championship. While the latter half of Slipper’s career coincided with a far-from-golden era of Australian rugby, most of his opponents would envy his second- and third-place World Cup finishes. He’s also one of the few players to have faced the Lions on two tours.

4. Richie McCaw

(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

• 148 caps (2001-2015)
• New Zealand

It was more or less inevitable that McCaw would amass a bucketload of caps – after all, what head coach would ever want drop a generational talent like him? Indeed, this record is pretty much the only thing the legendary All Blacks captain, two-time World Cup winner and three-time world player of the year hasn’t won – though, to be fair, New Zealand’s star flanker did top the list until Alun Wyn Jones surpassed his 148 caps in 2020.

5. Sergio Parisse

(Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

• 142 caps
• Italy

An unfortunate side-effect of Sergio Parisse being both a) one of the most capped rugby players of all time, and b) the captain of a struggling Italy side is that he’s lost more Test matches than any player in history – over 100 of them by the time he played his last game for the Azzurri. That stat is a tad misleading, however, seeing as this all-time great would have been right at home in any side on the planet.

=6. Beauden Barrett*

(Phil Walter/Getty Images)

• 141 caps (2012-present)
• New Zealand

By the time Beauden Barrett was given the unenviable task of replacing Dan Carter at 10 after the 2015 World Cup, he already had three years of experience in the famous black shirt. As well as being a world class fly-half, the double world player of the year can do a hell of a job at full-back – with versatility like that, it’s easy to see why he’s been practically undroppable for more than a decade.

=6. Brian O’Driscoll

(Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

• 141 caps (1999-2014)
• Ireland (133), British & Irish Lions (8)

Ireland’s talismanic centre made his international debut at 20, and would be a fixture in the side for the next 15 years. He was arguably the figurehead of Irish rugby’s renaissance – the 2009 Grand Slam was the first for the men in green since 1948 – and he would surely have even more caps to his name were it not for that infamous spear tackle on the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour.

8. George Gregan

(Darren England/Getty Images)

• 139 caps (1994-2007)
• Australia

The only player in the top 10 whose Test career started in amateur era, Gregan was the most capped player of all time by a distance when he retired in 2007. The scrum-half formed a vintage partnership with stand-off Stephen Larkham – their 79 games together remains a record for an international half-back pairing – and they helped carry the Wallabies to World Cup glory in 1999.

9. Eben Etzebeth*

(David Rogers/Getty Images)

• 138 caps (2012-present)
• South Africa

Etzebeth had to overtake another World Cup-winning star of the second row, Victor Matfield, to claim the Springboks’ all-time cap record. A year and 10 caps later, he’s still a key member of Rassie Erasmus’s all-conquering South Africa side. The question is, with his 34th birthday just round the corner, does Etzebeth have enough left in the tank to keep up with the Jones?

10. Cian Healy

(Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

• 137 caps (2009-2025)
• Ireland

No man has played more games for Ireland than the recently retired Leinster prop, who won five Six Nations titles (including four Triple Crowns and two Grand Slams) over the course of a glittering international career. And while 26 of his final 30 appearances in the famous green shirt came from the bench, Healy remained an integral member of the matchday 23 until playing his final game in the 2025 Six Nations.

More facts about the most capped rugby players of all time

• The top 10 is dominated by forwards, with seven of the most capped players plying their trade in the pack.
• The players who just missed out on the top 10 are Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Conor Murray (Ireland), Keven Mealamu (New Zealand), Ronan O’Gara (Ireland) and Stephen Moore (Australia).
• Alun Wyn Jones would still top the chart based on his Wales appearances alone, but removing Lions caps from the equation drops Brian O’Driscoll to 10th – just a single cap ahead of former All Black Keven Mealamu.
• The Englishman with the most caps is Ben Youngs (129 in total), while Ross Ford is top Scot (111). The French record holder is Fabien Pelous with 118.
• Alexander Todua of Georgia is the active player closest to breaking the top 10, but seeing as his 38th birthday is imminent, winning the dozen or so caps he needs to overhaul Cian Healy may be a stretch.
• The most capped player from a non-Tier 1 nation is former Romania centre Florin Vlaicu, with 129 caps.
• Former Red Roses captain Sarah Hunter holds the record for most Test caps in the women’s game with 141, placing her at joint sixth on the all-time list.
• Following James Slipper’s retirement, the only active players in the chart are Beauden Barrett and Eben Etzebeth. Can either overtake Alun Wyn Jones? It’s likely to be a close run thing, even if both players remain fit and available for every one of their respective countries’ games over the next couple of years. Both the All Blacks and the Springboks tend to play around 13 Tests per calendar year, which – including this year’s Autumn Nations Series matches and a possible run to the World Cup final in Australia – would mean another 30 games by the end of 2027. At that point both players would be 36 and tantalisingly close to the 170 caps Jones had earned once he retired at 37. There are, however, a lot of uncontrollable factors – and many minutes of rugby to be played – before either starts contemplating a place in the record books.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.