Kieran Read stays top in test captaincy win percentage following Bledisloe defence

AARON GOILE
Last updated 06:52, August 29 2018


In his return to international footy following injury, Kieran Read has not only overseen a comprehensive wrapping up of the Bledisloe Cup, but he's also kept himself in front of Richie McCaw at the top of the charts for test rugby's captaincy win percentage.

Following the two beltings handed out to Australia over the past two weekends, the All Blacks skipper's record as leader now reads: 36 matches, 32 wins, one draw, three losses. That is a win rate of 88.89 per cent.

McCaw - the longest-serving test rugby captain in history - had a record of 110 games, 97 wins, two draws and 11 losses, for a success rate of 88.18 per cent.

After locking away the Bledisloe Cup for another year, All Blacks captain Kieran Read has maintained his place atop the test captaincy win percentage charts.

Winning both tests against the Wallabies means Read - who missed June's series against France as he recovered from back surgery - maintains his place as the captain with the best winning rate in test history (minimum 20 games).

BEST TEST RUGBY CAPTAINCY SUCCESS RATES (20+ games)
Kieran Read (New Zealand) (2012-2018) (36 games, 32 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) 88.89%
Richie McCaw (New Zealand) (2004-2015) (110 games, 97 wins, 2 draws, 11 losses) 88.18%
Reuben Thorne (New Zealand) (2002-2007) (23 games, 20 wins, 3 losses) 86.96%
Tana Umaga (New Zealand) (2004-2005) (21 games, 18 wins, 3 losses) 85.71%
Dylan Hartley (England) (2012-2018) (27 games, 23 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) 85.19%
Martin Johnson (England) (1997-2003) (45 games, 37 wins, 8 losses) 82.22%
Gerhard Mans (Namibia) (1990-1994) (26 games, 20 wins, 1 draw, 5 losses) 76.92%
Juan Manuel Gaminara (Uruguay) (2016-2018) (26 games, 20 wins, 6 losses) 76.92%
Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand) (1992-1997) (51 games, 39 wins, 1 draw, 11 losses) 76.47%
Will Carling (England) (1988-1996) (59 games, 44 wins, 1 draw, 14 losses) 74.58%
John Eales (Australia) (1996-2001) (55 games, 41 wins, 2 draws, 12 losses) 74.55%
Victor Matfield (South Africa) (2007-2015) (23 games, 17 wins, 6 losses) 73.91%
Philippe Saint-Andre (France) (1994-1997) (34 games, 25 wins, 9 losses) 73.53%
Wilson Whineray (New Zealand) (1958-1965) (30 games, 22 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses) 73.33%

Many short tenures have obviously resulted in higher rates - such as Buck Shelford's 13 wins and a draw, which had him at 92.86 per cent, albeit at a time when no matches came against South Africa - but the 20-game mark is a fair threshold to judge a reign.

The list paints the picture of New Zealand's historical dominance, and such has been the success of the modern-day leaders, it almost makes Sean Fitzpatrick look rather second-rate, with a 76.47 per cent rate while he was leading some pretty quality sides.

The worst rate of All Blacks captains over the 20-game mark comfortably belongs to Taine Randell (1998-2002), with 54.55 per cent (22 games, 12 wins, nine losses, one draw) thanks to that turbulent year of 1998.

The highest-placed international captain is somewhat of a surprise, in Kiwi-born Englishman Dylan Hartley, who occupies fifth spot, with an 85 per cent-plus record, ahead of compatriot Martin Johnson.

Hartley's caveat is he hasn't captained a match against the All Blacks, and also has only two against the Springboks, with Owen Farrell taking the reins for June's tour of South Africa while he was sidelined by concussion.

Read took over as captain fulltime from McCaw in 2016, but prior to that he had already led New Zealand on nine occasions, starting in 2012, against Italy in Rome.

Naturally it would be assumed those matches were ones the All Blacks would have been expected to win handsomely, with McCaw rested, but it was actually more to do with stepping in for an injured leader, as they included three against France and one each against South Africa, Argentina and Australia.

READ & MCCAW CAPTAINCY SUCCESS AGAINST MAIN RIVALS
Argentina: Read 5-0 (100%), McCaw 8-0 (100%)
Australia: Read 7-1 (87.50%), McCaw 24-2-4 (83.33%)
England: Read N/A, McCaw 11-1 (91.67%)
France: Read 5-0 (100%), McCaw 9-1 (90%)
Ireland: Read 1-1 (50%), McCaw 11-0 (100%)
Lions: Read 1-1-1 (33.33%), McCaw N/A
Scotland: Read N/A, McCaw 4-0 (100%)
South Africa: Read 5-0 (100%), McCaw 15-5 (75%)
Wales: Read 3-0 (100%), McCaw 9-0 (100%)

Read managed to string 19 wins together before suffering a loss as skipper - the historic first-ever defeat to Ireland, in Chicago, two years ago. At that point the No 8 was still 95 per cent from 20 games, then he had climbed as high as 95.65 per cent following last year's first test against the British and Irish Lions.

However, after the second-test loss to the Lions in Wellington, then that infamous deciding-test draw in Auckland, Read's record dropped way down to 84 per cent.

He went into this year's Rugby Championship back up at 88.24 per cent, and now the question will be whether the 32-year-old can keep his spot ahead of McCaw and the rest come the end of his tenure - most likely to be in conjunction with his contract expiring after next year's World Cup.

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