Three of the competition’s entertainers are on the cusp of an elite milestone in Super Rugby this season, and the race is on to see who will get there first.
Israel Folau, TJ Perenara, and Julian Savea are each on the cusp of scoring their 50th Super Rugby try in the coming weeks, and there’s every chance that they’ll all reach the milestone come season’s end.
The Waratah’s flyer is the closest of the three to the half-century of tries, having already piled on 47 five-pointers in just 81 Super Rugby games.
TJ Perenara is next in line, having scored 45 tries from 102 appearances, while teammate Julian Savea will racing to catch up, needing six more tries to reach the half-century.
No other active player in the competition has scored more than 36 tries, with Australian pair Henry Speight and Scott Higginbotham both sitting on the figure heading into Round 9.
Folau has made the strongest start to the 2018 campaign, crossing twice already from five appearances and providing plenty of opportunity for his teammates as well. Folau has made 13 offloads this season, which is the equal most of any player in the competition alongside the Sharks’ Jean-Luc du Preez.
Meanwhile, Julian Savea is still searching for his first try of the campaign despite having already played six games - one more than Folau. Savea has made more clean breaks and beaten more defenders than Folau this season but is still yet to cross the line that matters most.
His teammate and scrum-half TJ Perenara has been a little luckier in the try scoring stakes this season, crossing just the once from his six appearances to date. He’s been busy providing the spoils for other players, though; Perenara has pitched in with three try assists this season - only Ihaia West (4) has provided more for the ‘Canes in 2018.
The next player to reach the half-century of tries will become just the seventh player in Super Rugby history to do so, but they’ll still have some way to go before they challenge the outright try scoring record held by Doug Howlett, who crossed for 59 tries in his Super Rugby career.
