International power rankings: Defeat to ‘gutsy’ Ireland costs ‘mighty’ Springboks at the top
Split with Ireland's Peter O'Mahony and Springbok Eben Etzebeth.
Following the conclusion of the July internationals, here are our power rankings based on the teams’ form, results and performances from their respective fixtures.
15. Japan
It’s been a tough old slog for Eddie Jones’ Japan side. Things got off to a bad start in the heavy 52-17 defeat to England, and they didn’t really improve. After drawing a two-Test series against the Maori All Blacks, the Brave Blossoms suffered a shock home defeat to Georgia, and this was later compounded by a heavy 42-14 loss to Italy.
Yes, Jones is playing a fresh-looking team, but they are really struggling to find form.
14. Portugal
Portugal became every neutral’s favourite team during the World Cup due to their attacking intent and genuine passion for the game, and they’ve again given a good account of themselves this July. They kicked off their summer with an impressive 37-22 win over Namibia, but they faced a much tougher challenge in their next game against South Africa.
Despite coming out on the wrong end of a huge 64-21 defeat to the Springboks, they still put up a brave fight and once again proved they are a side to keep an eye on moving forwards.
13. Wales
In a similar way to Jones, Warren Gatland’s second stint as Wales boss hasn’t been all singing and dancing. His team’s first challenge was against reigning World Cup champions South Africa. Stripped of a large chunk of their front-line squad, Wales fell to a heavy 41-13 defeat.
They then travelled down under to face a wounded Australia, and whilst they put up a good fight against the Wallabies they ultimately came out second best in both Tests. They also just scraped past the Reds with a 79th minute try in the last game of the tour.
Competitive performances are good, don’t get us wrong, but Wales NEED a win in a proper Test match to really get themselves going again.
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12. Georgia
A decent mid-year block for the Lelos, and you feel it’s one they can kick on from. They claimed an historic victory away in Japan despite being reduced to 14-men for much of the game, and they also put in two competitive showings in their losses against Fiji and Australia.
They seem to be employing a new style of play too. Georgia have become known for their powerful pack; but this July looked to play a wider game to utilise the pace on the outside. The incredible 100 metre try against Australia also showed they want to play from anywhere on the pitch too.
With the growth of Portugal, it’s important Georgia also continue to improve so there is a genuinely competitive second tier within Europe, and on the signs of this July there seems to be some decent progress.
11. Fiji
Just falling short of the top 10, despite their ranking spot, is Fiji. They began their mid-year Tests with a decent win over a competitive Georgia side, but things quickly turned sour as they were pumped 47-5 by New Zealand in San Diego.
The Flying Fijians proved at the World Cup they can compete with the best in the world, when on song, but this July they weren’t able to find their best form and it showed. It has by no means been a failure for them though.
10. Italy
A fairly successful July for the Azzurri, but they will feel they could have done better. Italy have come on leaps and bounds since Gonzalo Quesada took the reins as head coach, but again they showed they can be a tad inconsistent.
They didn’t play to their best in their opening defeat to Samoa, but quickly recovered to secure two convincing wins over Tonga and Japan. These two victories showed Italy at their best too, which makes the Samoa defeat even more frustrating for them.
9. Samoa
Speaking of Samoa, they slot into ninth spot in our power rankings after two wins. Samoan rugby has been in a tricky spot in recent years, but they used the World Cup as a platform to build from and they have done just that this July.
A decent victory over Italy began their mid-year campaign, and they backed it up with another victory over Spain. These are certainly games they would have lost, and maybe convincingly, a couple of seasons ago, so this is yet another positive step forward for the Pacific Islanders.
8. Argentina
In a similar position to Italy, Los Pumas can probably feel slightly annoyed they didn’t win all three games this July.
Despite France opting to deploy a rotated squad for the series, Argentina still lost the opening game in fairly poor fashion. They only threw their first punch after falling 20-3 down, and were well beaten by a virtually second-string side. They rallied the week after though to secure a decent win in Test two.
They rounded off their July with a mega 79-5 win over Uruguay, which should fill them with plenty of confidence going into the Rugby Championship; but the overriding feeling from this block of matches will be frustration.
7. France
Pipping their July opponents into seventh spot is France.
Whilst the tour was a car crash off the pitch, they can feel like they made some decent steps forward on it. As mentioned above, Fabien Galthié’s chargers headed down to South America without the likes of Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Emmanuel Meafou, Uini Atonio and Damian Penaud, but still secured a decent victory in Test one.
This tour was always going to be a development tour for the young French team, and they can probably feel they got exactly what they wanted out of it on the pitch.
6. Australia
The Wallabies came into this block in disarray following an awful World Cup, but they have quickly recovered in July.
They secured two decent wins over a spirited Wales, and followed that up with another good win over Georgia. Three wins from three is a really good look considering where they were eight months ago; but what’s more impressive is the way they have completely changed their style of play. Joe Schmidt stripped everything back down to the bones this July, and focused on the simple things.
This mid-year block has been crucial in giving them a platform, but it’s only going to be worth it if they turn it into decent performances in the Rugby Championship.
5. Scotland
Scotland’s tour of North America has been a roaring success, for a multitude of reasons.
Gregor Townsend opted to rest a number of key players this summer, namely Blair Kinghorn and Finn Russell, and it gave him a chance to test his fringe players in new roles amongst some experienced heads as well; and they certainly rewarded their call-ups.
They secured four incredibly impressive wins over Canada, the USA, Chile and Uruguay, racking up a collective tally of 198 points across the those games.
4. England
This July was pretty good for England, but they must know it was a golden opportunity missed.
Things began with an impressive 59-17 win over Japan, but they couldn’t get over the line in either Test against the All Blacks. The frustrating thing for England players and fans alike is that New Zealand were there for the taking too. England led for large chunks in both Tests, and only lost by a collective eight points.
A win in New Zealand is the rarest of beasts, but this could easily have been their best chance to do so.
3. New Zealand
The All Blacks came into the July Tests as an unknown entity, but they come out of them in a great spot.
Scott Robertson’s tenure began with two gritty wins over England. These showed a changed New Zealand side from the Ian Foster era, but still had the typical All Blacks flourishes to it as well. It might not have been as fluent as they wanted it to be, but it was a great start.
A visit to San Diego was up next, and this brought the best out of them. The All Blacks inflicted a heavy 47-5 defeat on Fiji, and also got the chance to test the likes of Billy Proctor out on the Test stage too.
2. South Africa
Playing for the first time since their World Cup triumph, the Springboks showed why they are one of the best in the world.
Their mid-year kicked off at Twickenham, as they put Wales to the sword in an emphatic 41-13 win. A return to South Africa followed for a blockbuster two-Test series against arch-rivals Ireland, and this didn’t disappoint.
A mighty performance in Test one guided them to victory over Andy Farrell’s side, but what was more eye-catching was their fast, expansive attack. They utilised the wide channels brilliantly to consistently get on the front-foot. Ireland responded well in Test two, and secured a last-gasp defeat. The Boks ended their mid-year campaign with an impressive win over Portugal, which again highlighted their new attacking intent.
This was always a chance for South Africa to try some new things, but it’s worked wonders for Rassie Erasmus.
1. Ireland
Ireland travelled down to South Africa with their backs to the wall, but came out of it at the top of the world.
Test one was a tough day for the Irish. They not only came away from the game beaten, but injuries to Bundee Aki and Dan Sheehan looked to have all but ended their hopes building into Test two.
It was anything but over though. An incredibly gutsy performance in Durban helped them secure a thrilling 25-24 win over the Springboks.
A key takeaway from this will also be the performances of the Irish pack. They bested the Boks at the scrum, and also put in monumental shifts across the park which ultimately secured victory.