Shane Williams broke Wales’ all-time try-scoring record of 40 tries on March 15th 2008 with a score against France in the 2008 Six Nations – a crucial score which virtually secured the Grand Slam of the same season for Wales. It was the occasion of his 56th cap.

The record, held previously by Gareth Thomas, was taken by Williams seven days after he had equalled Thomas with a try against Ireland at Croke Park on March 8th, which helped Wales wrap up the Triple Crown. It took Williams eight years to reach the 40 try milestone since scoring his first international try on his second appearance for Wales; against Italy during the 2000 Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium. Thomas’s record had stood without equal for just 168 days, set as it was on the occasion of Thomas’s 100th cap, against Fiji in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and it was then broken after just 175 by Williams.

From a record-setting perspective, the 2008 Six Nations was a good tournament all round for Shane Williams. Prior to breaking the all-time Welsh record, his brace against Scotland that year saw him become Wales’s leading try-scorer in the history of the Six Nations with his eleventh try in the competition. He maintains the record of top Welsh-scorer to date with 22 in the competition, with Gareth Edwards the nearest Welshman behind him on 18; and across the six competing teams only Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll (26) and Scotland’s Ian Smith (24) have more.

His 50th for his try – the last gasp effort against France in the 2010 Six Nations – was the try that took him past Edwards in the championship including the Five and Home Nations.

Colin Charvis scored his 22nd and final try for Wales against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium in November 2007.

At the time this saw him become the world’s leading try-scoring forward overtaking the previous world record of 21 international tries by a forward set by Italy’s Carlo Checchinato.

For Wales, Martyn Williams is the next highest scoring forward with 14 and Charvis remains ahead of Gerald Davies, Gareth Edwards, Tom Shanklin, Alex Cuthbert and Willie Llewellyn amongst others.

Willie Llewellyn set a tough challenge to his successors in the Welsh jersey when he marked his debut for Wales by scoring four tries against England at Swansea in 1899.

The Llwynypia wing set two records that day that have yet to be broken – four tries on debut and four tries in a match. Since then only eight other Welsh players have run in four tries in a match and equalled the record.

In November 2004 the record was equalled twice in the space of fifteen days at the Millennium Stadium, first Tom Shanklin scored four against Romania then two weeks later Colin Charvis became the first Welsh forward to score four tries in a match against Japan.

Four tries or more in a match for Wales