Since the inception of the Rugby World Cup in 1987, a total of 69 players have scored three tries or drop goals (a hat-trick) in a single match.
[4] Five players have scored a hat-trick of drop goals: Jannie de Beer, Jonny Wilkinson, Juan Martín Hernández, Theuns Kotzé and George Ford.
Of these, de Beer scored the most in one match, with five drop goals in South Africa's 44–21 victory over England in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
There have only been seven hat-tricks in the World Cup knockout stages: Chester Williams and Jonah Lomu in 1995,[6][7] de Beer in 1999,[5] Wilkinson in 2003,[8] Julian Savea and Adam Ashley-Cooper in 2015[9][10] and Will Jordan in 2023.
Goneva and Kotze's hat-tricks are the only time players on opposing teams have accomplished this feat in the same match at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.