World rankings: Springboks extend their lead at the top as All Blacks fall and USA rise (original) (raw)
All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett and the World Rugby Rankings.
The Springboks have stretched their lead at the summit of the World Rugby rankings while the All Blacks have slipped and Ireland have risen following the weekend’s Autumn Nations Series action.
New Zealand knocked Ireland off the top of the world rankings after their 23-13 victory at Aviva Stadium a fortnight ago as Andy Farrell’s side fell from first to third.
However, the All Blacks‘ time in second place lasted just over a week as Scott Robertson’s side fell to a 30-29 defeat to France in Paris.
That result paired with others during the weekend’s international action has seen eight teams change rankings positions in the top 20.
South Africa stay top
Cheslin Kolbe crossed for two tries in the Springboks‘ 29-20 victory over England at Allianz Stadium, a result that has seen South Africa extend their lead at the summit of the world rankings.
The Boks now hold a 2.0 point lead – after starting the weekend with a 1.25 advantage – over second-placed Ireland, who moved ahead of New Zealand following their narrow 22-19 victory over Argentina on Friday evening.
France claimed their third successive victory over the All Blacks on Saturday but the result was not enough to see them move into the top three in the rankings but did see them close the gap on New Zealand to just under two ranking points. Les Bleus remain in fourth place for at least another week while the rest of the top 10 is unchanged.
Argentina lost 0.20 rating points due to their three-point loss to Ireland and held onto fifth place as Scotland earned no points for their comprehensive victory over Portugal.
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Meanwhile, Australia are just 0.14 points behind seventh-placed England after their 52-20 thrashing of Wales and Steve Borthwick’s side’s loss to the Boks.
Fiji hold onto ninth place despite Italy’s win over Georgia with the latter two nations retaining 1oth and 11th place in the rankings respectively.
However, there was further movement in the top 20 with Japan moving ahead of Samoa into 13th place after Eddie Jones’ side beat Uruguay 36-20 at the Chambery Savoie Stadium in France.
The USA’s first victory over Tonga since 1999 saw the Americans swap places with Portugal as the Eagles moved into 15th position. As for Tonga, they dropped one place below Uruguay into 19th with Romania rounding out the top 20.
Outside of the top 20, the Netherlands and Kenya were the biggest climbers with the Dutch moving from 27th up to 24th position after their shock win over Chile while the Kenyans beat Uganda 21-5 to also move three places from 36th to 33rd.
Latest World Rugby rankings as of 18/11/2024
1 South Africa 92.78
2 Ireland 90.78
3 New Zealand 90.09
4 France 88.08
5 Argentina 85.40
6 Scotland 82.70
7 England 82.31
8 Australia 82.17
9 Fiji 80.07
10 Italy 78.92
11 Wales 74.01
12 Georgia 73.85
13 Japan 72.95
14 Samoa 72.68
15 USA 68.90
16 Portugal 68.82
17 Spain 67.10
18 Uruguay 65.94
19 Tonga 65.46
20 Romania 63.87