Most Capped Test XV of the 2010s
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Most Capped Test XV of the 2010s
The best of the best of 2010s, we take a look at the most capped Tier One Test Team of the 2010s.
Only players from Tier 1 side feature in our side while only their caps between 2010 and 2019 contribute to their tally.
1. Tendai Mtawarira - South Africa, 95 Tests
James Slipper won 96 test caps for the Wallabies between 2010-2019 but the Wallaby played on both sides of the scrum during that time.
Therefore we have gone with the World Cup-winning Springbok who won 95 tests between 2010 and 2019 before retiring.
Mtawarira started 82 of those 95 tests and had earned 22 tests before the new decade and retired with 117 tests.
2. Rory Best - Ireland, 90 Tests
Rory Best made 90 test appearances for Ireland over the decade. The former Ireland captain beat Agustin Creevy (85), Dylan Hartley (83) and Stephen Moore (83) to a place in the side.
3. Sekope Kepu - Australia, 107 Tests
Owen Franks (99) could well have featured at tighthead had he not fallen out of favour with the All Blacks but Sekope Kepu nicks the jersey.
Kepu made the Wallabies #3 jersey his own for a large period during the decade starting 73 times between 2010 and 2019.
Dan Cole also came close with 99 tests for England and the Lions between 2010 and 2019.
4. Sam Whitelock - New Zealand, 117 Tests
Whitelock's test career kicked off against Ireland in 2010 and went on to become a regular starter for New Zealand making 99 starts until 2019 and was widely tipped to be the new All Black captain before Sam Cane got the captaincy.
No player won more test caps between 2010 and 2019 than Whitelock with the second-rower even winning 101 of his 107 tests.
5. Alun-Wyn Jones - Wales and Lions, 105 Tests
Jones is the only Northern Hemisphere player who player over 100 tests between 2010 and 2019 with only Whitelock, Kieran Read and Kepu playing more.
The Wales captain started 96 of his 105 tests over that period with 9 tests coming with the British and Irish Lions.
6. Courtney Lawes - England and Lions, 82 Tests
Lawes made his test debut in 2009 with most of his 82 test caps coming between 2010 and 2019.
Although being a second-rower, Lawes has regularly started on the side of the scrum if not moving there at some time during a game. Two of his 82 tests also came with the British and Irish Lions.
56 of his 82 tests during the decade came in the starting XV with Michael Hooper being the only flanker to play over 80 tests between 2010 and 2019.
7. Michael Hooper - Australia, 99 Tests
Hooper hardly missed a test for Australia since his debut in 2012.
He earned 99 test caps for the Wallabies during that time starting 93 of those games with all six of those games coming in the first two years of his test career.
8. Kieran Read - New Zealand, 111 Tests
The All Black captain played his final test match at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 taking his test cap tally to 127.
Read played 16 tests before the turn of the decade but remained in the All Black set up for the entire decade winning two Rugby World Cups.
Of his 111 tests between 2010 and 2019, Read play just one game off the bench for the All Blacks.
9. Will Genia - Australia, 99 Tests
It took just two years for Australia to find George Gregan's replacement after the scrum-half dominated the jersey for 13 long years.
Will Genia debuted in 2009 earning 11 tests in his first year as a Wallaby and would go to one short of 100 caps between 2010 and 2019.
Genia mirrored Gregan in dominating the jersey over a decade producing countless world-class performances.
10. Jonathan Sexton - Ireland and Lions, 92 Tests
Like Genia replicated Gregan in taking over the starting jumper, Sexton did the same in replacing Ronan O'Gara.
Sexton made his test debut and has gone on to win 92 test until 2019. Six of Sexton's tests have came in the red of the Lions, just one of which off the bench.
Sexton also scored 765 during that period.
11. George North - Wales and Lions, 94 Tests
George North burst onto the scene in 2010 scoring a brace against the Springboks in 2010.
He went on to play 95 tests for Wales and a further 3 for Lions. North scored 41 tries during that period. Remarkably, North started 91 of those tests.
No other back started more tests between 2010 and 2019 than North.
12. Owen Farrell - England and Lions, 83 Tests
Owen Farrell made his test debut right after the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and went to on to make 83 caps by the end of 2019.
Now the England captain Owen Farrell scored more points than any other player of the decade and started 71 of his 83 test caps with 4 caps coming with the Lions.
View this post on InstagramOwen Farrell scored more test points than any other player between 2010 and 2019 π―
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper - Australia, 84 Tests
The Wallabies 'Mr Fix it', Adam Ashley-Cooper spent his entire career filling gaps in the Wallaby backline at an extremely high degree.
Ashley-Cooper won 84 of his 121 test caps between 2010 and 2019 scoring 27 tries during that period featuring at fullback, centre and on the wing.
14. Ben Smith - New Zealand, 84 Tests
Ben Smith played all but one of his 84 tests for the All Blacks between 2010 and 2019.
Smith is regarded as one of the finest fullbacks the game has ever seen but regularly featured on the wing for the All Blacks.
Smith scored 39 tries for the All Blacks before calling time on his career after the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
15. Kurtley Beale - Australia, 91 Tests
Like Smith, all but one of Beale's test caps came before the turn over the decade.
Beale has also featured in numerous roles for the Wallabies over the years.
Beale and Sexton beat Beauden Barrett to a place in the side with Barrett earning 83 tests between 2010 and 2019.
