World Rugby rankings: Top spot up for grabs in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry finale as Springboks target significant lead
Springbok Kurt-Lee Arendse is tackled by All Black Josh Moorby with the current World Rugby rankings.
Top spot in the World Rugby Rankings will once again be on the line when the Springboks and All Blacks collide in the fourth Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test.
The number one ranking has changed hands during the RGR series, with New Zealand returning to the summit after beating South Africa in the opening game at Ellis Park.
However, Dave Rennie’s side dropped back down to second place after falling to a defeat at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. South Africa then went 2-1 up in the series with a narrow win at the FNB Stadium in Soweto last weekend.
The two fierce rivals face off one final time in 2026 at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and, like every other meeting between the two nations this year in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, the number one ranking will be on the line.
World Rugby rankings permutations
New Zealand will return to the summit of the World Rugby rankings if they manage to beat South Africa in the first Test match the city of Baltimore has hosted since the USA beat Canada 12-7 in 1978.
An All Blacks’ victory of any kind would mean that the number one team has changed three times during the series, as they would trade places with the Springboks dropping to second. A win by more than 15 points would see New Zealand establish a 1.30 rating point cushion
over South Africa.
However, victory for South Africa could see their advantage grow to as much as 4.70 rating points with a win by more than 15 points – a vast improvement on the 1.68-point cushion they held over New Zealand going into the series. A smaller margin of victory would see South Africa hold a 3.94-rating-point buffer.
In the event of a stalemate, the Springboks would remain as the higher-ranked team but would lose 0.24 rating points. Neither team can drop lower than second place in defeat.
Should the All Blacks win the first clash between the two teams in the USA, each nation will retain one half of the Rivalry Trophy, which is made up of two parts drawn together by magnetism.
New Zealand have played five previous tests in the USA (W4, L1) between 2014 and 24. They have beaten the USA twice (74-6 in 2014 and 104-14 in 2021), Fiji (47-5 in 2024) and Ireland (26-13 in 2025), while falling to their first-ever defeat to Ireland in 2016 (40-29).
The Springboks have played three test matches on US soil, beating the USA 38-7 in 1981 and 43-10 in 2001. In 2018, they were defeated 22-20 by Wales in Washington, DC, in what was Rassie Erasmus’ first Test in charge as head coach.
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SOUTH AFRICA (1) 94.33 v NEW ZEALAND (2) 91.90
South Africa win by 15 points or less – South Africa 95.09, New Zealand 91.15
South Africa win by more than 15 points – South Africa 95.47, New Zealand 90.77
Draw – South Africa 94.09, New Zealand 92.15
New Zealand win by 15 points or less – South Africa 93.09, New Zealand 93.15
New Zealand win by more than 15 points – South Africa 92.47, New Zealand 93.77
Springboks are ‘bossing’ the scrum as ex-hooker claims All Blacks coaching ‘is not good enough
Latest World Rugby rankings
(As of 10/09/2026)
1 South Africa 94.33
2 New Zealand 91.90
3 Ireland 88.08
4 France 87.43
5 England 85.68
6 Scotland 84.78
7 Australia 83.55
8 Argentina 82.24
9 Fiji 78.00
10 Wales 76.38
11 Italy 76.30
12 Japan 75.36
13 Georgia 73.94
14 USA 70.22
15 Portugal 69.39
16 Chile 66.94
17 Spain 66.83
18 Uruguay 65.75
19 Tonga 65.14
20 Samoa 64.73
