World rankings: Springboks cement top spot, All Blacks lose ground
How this weekend's Rugby Championship and Pacific Nations Cup action impacted the World Rugby rankings.
The Springboks win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park has strengthened South Africa’s hold on top spot in the World Rugby rankings.
A late try from replacement scrum-half Grant Williams saved South Africa’s blushes as they edged past New Zealand 31-27 in Johannesburg and saw them remain as the top-ranked side in World Rugby.
Springboks stay top of the pile
Had it not been for the late surge from Springboks, inspired by their famed Bomb Squad, which saw them overturn a 10-point deficit, then Ireland would have started the week at the summit of the world rankings.
Scott Robertson’s men led 17-27 heading into the final quarter and had they held onto the lead until the final blast of the whistle, then they would have sent the Springboks down to second. Alas, it was not to be and the win for Rassie Erasmus’ men means they have extended their lead over Ireland at the top to 1.25 rating points.
As for New Zealand, the loss has not resulted in a rankings change as they still hold a 1.49 advantage over fourth-placed France.
Meanwhile, Australia notched their first Rugby Championship win of the year courtesy of a late Ben Donaldson penalty that sealed a nail-biting 19-20 victory in La Plata. That result has seen Australia swap places with Italy in the rankings with the Wallabies claiming eighth place.
Pacific Nations Cup action
Wins for Samoa and USA in the Pacific Nations Cup were not enough to see them making positive moves in the world rankings.
Manu Samoa hammered Tonga 43-17 on Friday and despite the 16-point victory, their 0.25 rating points earned was not enough to see them surpass 12th-ranked Georgia. It does, however, mean that the gap between the two nations has been closed to just 0.56 rating points.
As for the USA, they fell three points short of trading places with Spain in the rankings after defeating Canada in Carson, California.
The Eagles earned 0.24 points for their 28-15 win but they need a win of 16 points or more to move into 19th position. The defeat for Canada means they will drop below Chile into 22nd place once the rankings are officially updated.
World Rankings as of 1/09/2024
1 South Africa 93.37
2 Ireland 92.12
3 New Zealand 88.45
4 France 86.96
5 England 85.4
6 Argentina 83.30
7 Scotland 82.82
8 Australia 80.70
9 Italy 79.98
10 Fiji 77.92
11 Wales 76.04
12 Georgia 74.10
13 Samoa 73.54
14 Japan 72.12
15 Portugal 70.61
16 Tonga 68.29
17 Uruguay 67.39
18 Spain 66.29
19 USA 66.25
20 Romania 62.62
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