It is such a cliche but in rugby, where the margins between winning and losing are so fine, it is vital that your team has a good goalkicker.

A single conversion or penalty goal can make the difference between silverware and defeat, or heading back from a long away trip with a smile on your face or a frown.

If you need an example, take the 2001 Heineken Cup Final where Diego Dominguez, the legendary Italy fly-half, kept Stade Francais in the game through his trusty right boot.

Dominguez contributed all the points himself in his team’s narrow 30-34 loss to Leicester Tigers in the Parc des Princes, and it is no coincidence that his haul of 188 points in that year remains a single-season record for the competition.

Many clutch moments can be traced back to a nervy penalty or conversion being knocked over as opposed to a stunning coast to coast try.

With this in mind, we decided to take a look into the top 13 points scorers in Premiership Rugby history with the full list below.

The * indicates the player is still playing.

13.) Barry Everitt - 1,267

You don’t get the nickname “The Boot” for nothing. Premiership stalwart Everitt kicks off our list with a whopping 1,267 points to his name - with his haul amassed across spells at London Irish and Northampton Saints.

Everitt was called up to the senior Ireland squad against Samoa in November 2001 and still holds the record for the most individual points scored in a Premiership season.

He won three trophies in his time at Northampton; the RFU Championship in 2008, the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2009 before bowing out with an Anglo-Welsh Cup victory in 2010.

After retiring from rugby in July 2010, Everitt was appointed Director of Sport at Cranmore - an independent day school for boys and girls in West Horsley, Surrey.

As of September 2020, he is now headmaster at the prodigious school where Draco Malfoy himself, Tom Felton, once attended.

12.) Toby Flood - 1,290*

Tobias Gerald Albert Cecil Lieven Flood made his debut for Newcastle Falcons way back in 2004 before heading down the A1 join Leicester Tigers in 2008.

The 35-year-old is now back at Falcons after a spell in the south of France with Toulouse - enjoying the last of his 60 England caps in 2014.

A superb kicker from the tee, Flood will be looking to add further to his mammoth points tally and reestablish Falcons as Premiership regulars.

Interestingly enough, his paternal grandfather, Gerald Flood, voiced the robot companion Kamelion in Doctor Who while his maternal grandfather was German actor Albert Lieven, who appeared in the classic war film The Guns of Navarone.

11.) Freddie Burns - 1,344*

The Utility Back spent all of his career in the Premiership before a transfer last year to the fabulously named Shokki Shuttles in Japan.

Not a renowned kicker but a solid one none the less, Burns enjoyed spells at Gloucester, Leicester Tigers and Bath where he racked up the points, accruing enough to place him 11th on this list.

In an era where he was at various times behind Charlie Hodgson, Toby Flood and an emerging Owen Farrell, he can perhaps feel unfortunate that he did not earn more than his five England caps.

10.) Owen Farrell - 1,361*

What more can we say - the current England captain, soon to be a three-time British and Irish Lion and a kicker you’d bet the farm on when he’s in form.

In his trophy cabinet sit Premierships, Six Nations titles, Champions Cups, British and Irish Lions Test series winners’ medals and more.

Before he can claim more major honours, he will be wanting to add the RFU Championship to his haul as Saracens look to bounce back at the first time of asking after their enforced relegation.

Despite him being around for donkey’s years, he still is only 29 and could well feature at the next two World Cups if he keeps fit and manages his workload.

That also leaves him with plenty of time to add to his already-imposing Premiership points haul - especially if Saracens can rediscover that winning feeling and return to their old heights.

9.) George Ford - 1,374*

It is perhaps fitting that Ford and Farrell sit right next to each other on the Premiership points scorers list - they can’t be kept apart even in the statistics.

Ford and Farrell go together like Morecambe and Wise, Simon and Garfunkel or Chas and Dave, with the two men often dovetailing at 10 and 12 in England colours.

On the domestic scene, Ford became the youngest player to make his professional debut in England and, in the process, breaking the record previously held by - guess who? - Owen Farrell.

He was just a tender 16 years and 237 days old when he made his bow for Leicester against Leeds Tykes in the Anglo-Welsh Cup before going on to rack up the points in the Premiership across two spells at Tigers, separated by a period at Bath.

If you needed proof of his knack for kicking goals, Ford even pulled off this little piece of sorcery in his time at the Rec - he still manages to split the posts even when he completely duffS his kick.

8.) Jonny Wilkinson - 1,489

Perhaps the greatest goalkicker in the history of the game, Wilkinson gives much of the credit for his brilliance off the tee to an imaginary lady called Doris.

Before his move to Toulon and the two Heineken Cups that followed, Wilkinson racked up 1,489 points in drop goals, conversions and penalty kicks for Newcastle Falcons.

As it stands, Sir Jonny is also England’s top point scorer with 1,179 - although Owen Farrell is fast closing in on the World Cup winner’s mark, with the Saracen sitting on 986 and counting.

7.) Jimmy Gopperth - 1,493*

Gopperth learned to slot goals in arguably the most difficult place to be a goalkicker in world rugby - windy Wellington on the coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

It is reflected in his style, which is anything but languid or pretty. A quick look at the posts, run through the ball, smash it low and hard.

However, it ain’t half effective as the Kiwi is now seventh on the last after scoring 1,493 points to date after plying his trade at Newcastle Falcons and now Wasps.

6.) Olly Barkley - 1,605

Once seen as the future of English rugby, Barkley perhaps didn’t fulfil his potential and appeared to suffer from confidence issues during his career.

However, he still earned 23 caps for the Red Rose and featured at the 2007 World Cup.

He had a unique style that saw him put his arms at right angles before lurching forward a single step and stroking the ball with his sweet left foot - which looked like it was made of caramel at times for the smoothness of its swing.

As well as featuring for Gloucester, the now-defunct London Welsh and several teams in France, Barkley is best known for his two spells at Bath where he first burst onto the scene in 2001.

5.) Gareth Steenson - 1,651

The man who was the beating heart of the Exeter Chiefs fairytale, Steeno hung up his boots at the end of last season after bringing down the curtain on a glittering career by winning the European Champions Cup and Premiership double.

After joining from Rotherham Titans in 2008, Steenson played a massive part in the final leg of the 2009–10 Championship final against Bristol by scoring 24 points and gaining promotion to the promised land.

He didn’t stop there, with his metronomic kicking providing the platform for many Chiefs’ victories and won the league’s golden boot in 2016.

Steenson’s nomination for freedom of the city was approved by a unanimous vote of Exeter City Council in December 2020, showing how loved the Irishman is in his adopted home.

4.) Nick Evans - 1,656

Often thought of as a mercurial playmaker capable of moments of genius, it shouldn’t be forgotten how reliable the former All Black was from the tee.

More than capable at both fly-half and fullback, Evans won the RPA Player of the Year in 2012 after inspiring Harlequins to become champions of England.

He scored 20 points against Leicester Tigers to deliver Harlequins’ first and only Premiership title to date.

Inducted into the Premiership Hall of Fame in 2019, The I said last year that “Evans holds a strong claim to be the greatest ever Premiership import” and it is hard to disagree.

3.) Stephen Myler - 1,778*

The fact that Myler is in the top three of this list is surprising, not because he's not a brilliant points scorer (which he is) but that he comes from such strong Rugby League stock.

His father John Myler played fullback for Widnes Vikings while his uncle Tony Myler is a former captain of the club and a Great Britain international to boot.

Stephen’s great uncle Frank Myler also remains the last player to captain a Great Britain side to win a series in Australia back in 1970.

This Myler however is a Northampton Saints legend after winning the Premiership, Anglo-Welsh Cup and European Challenge Club with the East Midlanders and bagging many points along the way.

2.) Andy Goode - 2,285

Before becoming a podcaster extraordinaire and Twitter celebrity, Goode was a fantastic stand-off who can count Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Worcester Warriors, Wasps and Newcastle Falcons on his illustrious CV.

Although not the most athletic of players, Goode made up for it by controlling games with his brilliant out of hand kicking and pinpoint passing to release his outside backs.

Behind a dominant Leicester Tigers pack of the early to mid-2000s, Goode managed to rack up the majority of points while playing for the Welford Road juggernaut and it will be a long time before he is knocked off second place.

1.) Charlie Hodgson - 2,625

A worthy winner and although a brilliant goalkicker, Hodgson remains one of the most attacking fly-halves English rugby has ever seen.

Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said of Italy and AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi that he was “born offside”, and you could well say that Hodgson was born on the gainline.

He constantly looked to challenge defences by taking the ball to the defensive line and unlocking his bigger and quicker teammates.

Premiership and Champions Cup winners medals sit in his trophy cabinet but Hodgson must also love being able to call himself the highest point scorer in the league’s history.

Despite his playmaking ability, he was an absolute goal machine who could punish you if you infringed anywhere in your own half.

Although not blessed with a massive boot it was unerringly accurate and set the foundation for many a Sale, Saracens and England victory in a glittering 16-year career.

Despite all the points he plundered, his kicking technique was certainly eccentric - keeping his head pointed down at the floor even after it had left his boot.

Much like Goode in second place, you feel that it will be a long, long time before anyone gets close to taking his record.