ICON Legends – George North – Welsh Wing Wizard

There are certain players that instantly come to mind when you think of certain sports teams and when it comes to Welsh rugby, George North certainly sits near the very top of that list.

The iconic winger bid farewell to international rugby earlier this year, bringing to a close a glittering career that saw him become a talisman for his nation. As his sudden retirement led the world of rugby to look back on his time at the top, it makes sense for North to be the latest addition to our ICON Legends series.

A Welsh icon

North made a phenomenal 121 appearances for Wales, the third-most in the country’s history, scoring 235 points. Starting his career as a winger before moving inside later down the line, North finished his international career with 49 tries.

47 of those came for Wales, with two coming in the colours of the British and Irish Lions, meaning only Shane Williams has scored more for the national side. In fact, only six players in rugby history have scored more international tries than North. He also remains the only Welsh rugby player to have appeared in four World Cup quarter-finals.

It’s fair to say that North burst onto the scene as a youngster. After impressing for the Scarlets, he was called up for the senior Wales squad and became the youngest player to score a try on his debut. Aged just 18, North scored twice against South Africa at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, although they ultimately lost the match 29-25.

His double broke a record that had stood for almost 117 years – the previous holder was Tom Pearson, who scored against England on his debut way back in 1891. Just over a year later, North broke yet another record at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He became the competition’s youngest ever try scorer as he bagged twice against Namibia in Wales’ 81-7 thrashing of the African nation.

Six Nations glory

While North never managed to taste World Cup glory with Wales, despite reaching two semi-finals, he more than made up for it in the Six Nations. He won it four times, including two Grand Slams.

The first of those came back in 2012 as Wales claimed the Six Nations title for the 25th time. North scored the decisive try in his side’s opening game against Ireland, narrowly helping them to a 23-21 victory.

A year later, he was pivotal again as Wales retained the championship. This time they lost to Ireland in the opener to deny them another Grand Slam, but four further wins sealed the trophy and North was on the scoresheet in the second match against France.

Even in the years that Wales weren’t champions, North was still able to prove his worth. In 2015, the winger scored Wales’ first-ever hat-trick as they thrashed Italy 61-20 in Rome. The following year, he enjoyed yet another fruitful tournament, setting Welsh records for 473 metres gained, 12 clean breaks and 26 defenders beaten. To top it all off, he also finished as the top try scorer with four.

North tasted Six Nations success twice more with Wales before hanging up his boots, claiming another Grand Slam in 2019. And in 2021, in a tournament disrupted by the pandemic, he became the youngest ever player to reach 100 international caps aged just 28 years and 320 days.

Legend of the game

While North has called time on his international career, he’s still enjoying his rugby at club level. He started at Welsh side Scarlets before moving to Northampton Saints where he won the English Premiership at Twickenham in 2014.

A successful five years in England saw him score 190 points in 90 games before he returned to Wales and spent six years at Ospreys. Following the expiration of his contract, he crossed the channel during the summer, signing a two-year deal with French outfit Provence Rugby.

North has also starred at international level for the British and Irish Lions, most notably in their 2013 tour to Australia. He notched his first try in the opener, running half the length of the pitch and skipping past four Australia players.

And in the final match of the series, he scored again as the Lions thrashed the hosts 41-16 to win the series 2-1. While he’ll look fondly back on his countless memories, at just 32 years of age he’ll still be hopeful of making even more over in France, despite his current injury issues.

The stats speak for themselves and there’s no doubting that North is one of the greatest Welsh rugby players in history. His international retirement at the start of the year came as a shock to many and when the Six Nations rolls back around in the spring, there are going to be some very big shoes to fill.

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