Who kicked a record 31 penalties at the 1999 Rugby World Cup?

Gonzalo Quesada kicked a record 31 penalties at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The Argentina fly-half also finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 102 points.

Quesada appeared in five matches and converted 31 penalty goals, three conversions and one drop goal. His penalty haul was central to Argentina’s attacking strategy and helped him edge Australia full-back Matt Burke, who scored 101 points overall.

The figure is a tournament record for penalty goals, not necessarily the all-time Rugby World Cup record for every scoring category. Jonny Wilkinson later surpassed Quesada’s career total for World Cup penalties across multiple tournaments, but he did not match the 31 in a single 1999 tournament.

The 1999 competition was hosted by Wales and expanded to 20 teams. Argentina reached the quarter-finals, while Australia eventually won the title by defeating France 35–12 in the final.