7 Rugby Legends Join Hall of Fame in 2026

Seven rugby icons from five countries will join the World Rugby Hall of Fame throughout 2026, honoring careers that changed the sport forever.

The class includes USA's Jen Crawford, who led her team to victory in the first-ever Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991. She'll be inducted alongside England's Sue Day, who still holds the Red Roses' all-time try-scoring record with 61 tries across her decade-long international career.

New Zealand's Rochelle Martin earned three Women's Rugby World Cup titles during her playing days. Her induction takes place in Christchurch on October 31 as the Black Ferns host France.

The ceremony in Cape Town already honored South Africa's Joel Stransky and New Zealand's Zinzan Brooke in August. Italy's Diego Dominguez, who became a symbol of Italian rugby during their transition into the Six Nations in 2000, will be inducted before a Six Nations match in Rome this March.

France's Abdelatif Benazzi rounds out the class. The Morocco-born back row player earned 78 caps between 1990 and 2001 and now serves as vice president of French rugby's governing body.

The Ripple Effect

These inductees didn't just win games. Sue Day became England rugby's first female Chief Operating Officer and led the creation of the Premier Women's Rugby league. She drove the successful bid to bring the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup to England before joining The Football Association to advance women's soccer.

Jen Crawford blazed trails for American women's rugby when few even knew the sport existed. Her 1991 World Cup victory proved women could compete at the highest levels decades before most countries took women's rugby seriously.

Abdelatif Benazzi continues shaping rugby's future through his leadership on World Rugby's Council and High-Performance Committee. The work these legends do off the field matters as much as their championship moments.

World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson noted that each inductee demonstrated rugby's core values of integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect throughout their careers and beyond.

The Hall of Fame now includes 182 members since launching in 2006, preserving the stories of those who transformed rugby from regional pastime to global phenomenon.