Boan Venter broke new ground on Saturday by becoming the first prop in the history of the United Rugby Championship to score a hat-trick of tries.
Never before in the 21-year existence of the competition – dating back to the dawn of the Celtic League in 2001 – had a prop crossed for three tries in a single match.
To mark Venter’s treble in Edinburgh’s defeat at the Ospreys, we have delved into the record books to uncover the history of try-scoring props in the URC.
In total, 191 different props have touched down in the URC and former Munster loosehead James Cronin is top of the pile with 17 to his name.
Edinburgh tighthead WP Nel sits on 15 and is Cronin’s closest challenger, while Leinster’s Cian Healy and ex-Dragons and Scarlets man Rhys M Thomas are another score further back.
Another former Dragons prop, Adam Black, completes the top five with 13, while Venter now has a tally of five tries.
Prior to Venter’s treble in Swansea at the weekend, the feat of scoring two tries in a single match had been achieved by a prop on 22 previous occasions.
Munsterman Dave Kilcoyne accounted for three of those braces, more than anyone else on the list.
Cronin and Scarlets prop Rob Evans, meanwhile, have both managed a double from the bench, with Cronin doing so against Zebre in March 2017 and Evans making a big impact at home to Cardiff in March 2019.
The Glasgow Warriors v Munster game at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock in February 2016 is the only fixture which has seen four tries scored by props, with Glasgow’s Sila Puafisi and Munster’s Kilcoyne both grabbing two tries apiece.
The first prop to score a try was Newport’s Chris Anthony against Caerphilly at Rodney Parade on August 25, 2001.
Fifteen minutes later, loosehead team-mate Rod Snow also crossed to become the second, with both men making their competition debuts in the same match.
Six other men have also scored a try on their Championship debut, including Venter, who touched down for the Cheetahs against the Southern Kings in Bloemfontein in April 2019.
The youngest prop to score a try was Glasgow’s Zander Fagerson against the Dragons at Scotstoun on October 16, 2015, aged 19 years and 271 days.
The oldest try scorer in any Championship match also happened to be a prop.
Taufa’ao Filise touched down for Cardiff against the Ospreys on ‘Judgement Day’ at the Principality Stadium on April 15, 2017, aged 39 years and 324 days.
