RUGBY PLAYERS from United Kingdom

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary British Rugby Players of all time. This list of famous British Rugby Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Jonny Wilkinson (1979 - )

With an HPI of 35.51, Jonny Wilkinson is the most famous British Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time. He played club rugby for twelve seasons in the English Premiership with Newcastle Falcons. In 2009, he moved to Toulon, where he won two Heineken Cups and one Top 14 championship in five seasons. He holds the record of top point-scorer at both clubs. Wilkinson won 91 caps for England. He was an integral member of the England squad which won the 2003 World Cup, scoring the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time against Australia in the final. He came back from several injuries and was part of the England team which reached the final of the 2007 World Cup. He toured twice with the British & Irish Lions, in 2001 to Australia and 2005 to New Zealand, winning 6 caps. He retired from rugby at the end of the 2013–14 season. In 2016, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Wilkinson is currently a studio pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations Championship, Rugby World Cup and other rugby events.

2. Shane Williams (1977 - )

With an HPI of 27.64, Shane Williams is the 2nd most famous British Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and is fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, Bryan Habana and David Campese. In 2008, Williams was selected as the World Rugby Player of the Year, then known as the IRB Player of the Year. Since his retirement from international rugby in 2012, Williams has worked as a presenter on S4C's Six Nations rugby programme Y Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol, and as a pundit on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 broadcasts as well as third party shows such as "Inside Welsh Rugby", commenting on the grassroots of Welsh rugby. Williams was selected to the Barbarians squad that played Wales in June 2012. It was originally planned to be his last appearance as a player, but he shortly thereafter signed a one-year contract to play in Japan with Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars in June 2012. Williams was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to rugby. Williams extended his stay in Japan several times, taking on a role as player-coach and turning down an offer from French Top 14 side Toulon in the process. Before finally announcing he would be returning home at the end of the 2014–15 Japanese Top League season. In November 2016, Williams was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame during opening ceremonies for the Hall's first physical home in Rugby, Warwickshire.

3. George North (1992 - )

With an HPI of 14.37, George North is the 3rd most famous British Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys. Born in England, he represents Wales at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds. He began his professional career with the Scarlets before moving to England to play with the Northampton Saints. Notably, he made Welsh rugby history by being the youngest player to score a try on debut at the age of 18. North also has established himself as one of the top try-scorers at test level, holding the record for the most tries scored by an active international player.