South Canterbury halfback Willie Wright has become a Heartland Championship record breaker.

Wright is the highest point scorer in Heartland rugby history with 608 points.

The 34-year-old has scored 33 tries, landed 182 conversions, 25 penalties and one drop goal in his 98 Heartland Championship games.

Against Poverty Bay he eclipsed Thames Valley’s David Harrison’s record of 588 points, who had surpassed Buller’s James Lash on 560.

Wright debuted for the ‘Green and Blacks’ in 2011 against Russia and played his first Heartland game that year.

As well as being the top points scorer, the veteran halfback is leading the conversion record and is fifth-highest in the try-scoring stakes.

South Canterbury statistician Grant George and historian Jeremy Sutherland spent time working out Wright’s exact points total as in 2016 the championship trialled six point tries and two-point penalties.

South Canterbury No.8 Siu Kakala also became the 13th player to score more than 250 points for the province when he dotted down against Poverty Bay for his 50th try. His 47 Heartland Championship tries have him in fourth place overall in the record books but a good chance of becoming the championship’s top try scorer next season. Fellow South Cantabrian Kalavini Leatigaga is tied on top on 53, along with Whanganui’s Alekesio Vakarorongo.

Wright sits second overall in the South Canterbury points scoring table behind Barry Fairbrother who has 1048 points. Fairbrother also holds the record for the most points in a season with 175, most conversions (31), penalties (31), dropped goals (8) and has the most penalties in a game with seven.

Fairbrother still is, and will probably stay forever, the greatest drop goal exponent in New Zealand first class rugby history. His 61 pots came in just 118 outings, meaning he landed one every second game.

South Canterbury’s top try scorer is Stephen Todd with 60, but Kakala is in reach of that.

Todd however also holds the record for most appearances with 152 for the province, another record that is unlikely to be beaten.