Imhoff becomes first Argentine to 100 Professional Tries

Juan Imhoff made history today, becoming the first Argentine player to score 100 tries as a professional rugby player. The mark was reached in Paris with Imhoff scoring a first half try in Racing 92’s 36-26 win over the Leicester Tigers.

The 100 professional tries are based on senior tries across all professional appearances. Imhoff’s score against Leicester was his 70th for Racing 92. The try was a first half effort in a home match in the European Champions Cup.

Imhoff not only became the first Argentine to score 100 professional tries but also the first South American. He is, however, not the first from the Americas. There are two others to have scored 100 or more tries as professionals.

One player who came close is Chris Wyles. The former USA captain scored a total of 91 tries in his professional career, 75 of them came playing in Europe and 16 for the USA.

Wyles’ longtime Eagles teammate Taku Ngwenya is the joint leader with 109 tries. Ngwenya scored 13 for the USA, 93 in Europe, and 3 as a professional in the USA playing in the PRO Rugby and Major League Rugby competitions.

Currently equal with Ngwenya is Canadian international DTH van der Merwe. He has 109 career tries, 37 of them being scored in test rugby for Canada, and the remanining 72 coming while playing for the Glasgow Warriors, Scarlets and Newcastle Falcons.

All four of Imhoff, Wyles, Ngwenya, and van der Merwe have played in multiple Rugby World Cups. Both Imhoff and van der Merwe are expected to play in next year’s World Cup in Japan.

Before the World Cup arrives van der Merwe will likely be ahead of Ngwenya and Imhoff may also reach the mark of 110 tries.