Benjamín Urdapilleta sets modern French rugby scoring record with 2,619 points

Milestone in Créteil

Benjamín Urdapilleta became the top scorer of the modern professional era in the French rugby championship on Saturday, 3 October 2026. The 40-year-old Argentine fly-half, representing Perpignan, entered the match against Racing 92 requiring only two points to surpass the long-standing record. During the first half at the stadium in Créteil, Urdapilleta converted two penalties and added a conversion, collecting eight points in the opening period. Those kicks took his career championship tally to 2,619 points, moving him past former Castres kicker Romain Teulet, who accumulated 2,612 points between 2001 and 2014. Perpignan suffered a 55-25 defeat in the fixture, but Urdapilleta claimed the milestone in his first appearance of the 2026-2027 season.

Career across French clubs

Urdapilleta moved to France in 2012 to play for Oyonnax, working under manager Christophe Urios. He followed Urios to Castres Olympique in 2015, where he spent eight seasons through 2023 and registered the largest share of his scoring total with 1,679 points. During his stay in Castres, the former Argentine international won the Bouclier de Brennus in 2018 after his team advanced from sixth place in the regular season, and reached another final in 2022 against Montpellier. He moved to Clermont from 2023 to 2025 before announcing his retirement in mid-2025 to return to Argentina. He reversed that decision later that year to join Perpignan, helping the Catalan side maintain its Top 14 position through an accession match against Provence Rugby.

Chasing the points record

After concluding the prior campaign one point short of matching Teulet, Urdapilleta agreed to a contract extension under Perpignan manager Laurent Labit to contest the 2026-2027 season. Speaking to L'Équipe in July after signing the new deal, Urdapilleta discussed the possibility of overtaking the record.

I only need one point to equal the record and two to go clear in the lead. It would be huge, a kind of dream that I had never imagined.

His performance in Créteil fulfilled that objective, placing him at the summit of French rugby scoring for competitions held under the single-pool system established in 2001 across the Top 16 and Top 14 eras.

All-time championship rankings

Despite leading the modern professional era, Urdapilleta remains behind the absolute first-division record across all formats in French rugby history. That record belongs to Richard Dourthe, who scored 3,015 points between 1992 and 2008 while playing for Dax, Béziers, Stade Français, Bègles-Bordeaux, Castres, and Bayonne. Teulet, known during his playing days as "Robocop" for his kicking accuracy with Castres, drops to second in the modern era standings behind Urdapilleta. Urdapilleta's 2,619 points represent the highest total achieved in the championship since the league adopted a unified division structure.