Rugby World Cup: Will Jordan on verge of overtaking game's greats with hattrick in All Blacks win over Argentina

Regardless of the stage, regardless of the opposition and regardless of the jersey he wears, Will Jordan just scores tries.

On Saturday (NZ time), he managed a hat-trick against Argentina, as the All Blacks strolled into the Rugby World Cup final in France, courtesy of a 44-6 victory.

As well as his treble against the Pumas, Jordan has also scored against Ireland, and two apiece against Uruguay and Italy. 

Three tries at the Stade de France took the winger's tally for the tournament to eight and with one game to play, he sits level with Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea for the most tries in a single men's tournament.

Will Jordan against Argentina.
Will Jordan against Argentina. Photo credit: Getty Images

Next week, regardless of who the All Blacks face, Jordan has the chance to claim that record outright.

Victory over Argentina was just Jordan's 30th test. In that time, he's scored 31 tries at a strike rate of 1.03 tries per game.

Of all the All Blacks' great tryscorers, none scored at a better rate than Jordan. All-time recordholder Doug Howlett had 49 tries in 62 tests - a strike rate of 0.79 per game.

Savea had 46 tries in 54 tests at 0.85 per game, while Joe Rokocoko scored 46 tries in 68 tests at 0.68 per game.

Even the great Lomu - the benchmark for wingers worldwide for decades - only scored 37 in 63 tests for a strike rate of 0.59, albeit playing through now well-documented health issues.  

Already on course to shatter the record for most tries in Super Rugby, Jordan is on pace to break the All Blacks' all-time record in just his 48th test match.

Teammate Rieko Ioane, who has dotted down 36 times in 68 tests, insists the All Blacks will do all they can next week - against either South Africa or England - to ensure their teammate claims the record outright and rises above some of the game's all-time greats.

Will Jordan against Argentina.
Will Jordan against Argentina. Photo credit: Getty Images

"Will's special," said Ioane. "Every time he touches the ball, something can happen.

"Tonight, he showed his class. We'll look to get him over for one more next week."

There are few in the world, let alone New Zealand, who can match what Jordan does with ball in hand, but flanker Dalton Papali'i says Jordan's success comes down to the work he does off the field.

"He's greedy," he joked. "It just goes to show what a player he is.

"He's one of one in my opinion. He's a player that puts in the hard yards behind the scenes.

"I've never seen someone do so much laptop work before. It goes to show, it's all paying off.

"When he's out on the field, he's seeing those pictures and he's playing his style of footy, he's a hard man to stop.

"Everyone sees the highlight reels, but it's the work behind the scenes that he does to put him in those positions."

Regardless of how the next week plays out, Jordan has already added his name to rugby folklore with his efforts at this year's World Cup.

Now, the focus will be on whether he can stand alone at the pinnacle.