The World Rugby Men’s Rankings are updating after each round of games at the Rugby World Cup and while Ireland have hung onto the number one spot, that might not be the case by the time we meet South Africa in two weeks time.
England, Australia and Wales all climbed two places, while Georgia have gone the other way to the benefit of both Samoa and Italy.
Ireland stay top – but only just – after South Africa fell a single point a short of the margin of victory needed to replace them there.
A record 82-8 win over Romania safeguarded Ireland’s rating of 91.82 points but that would have been bettered by South Africa had they managed to beat Scotland by more than 15 points.
Instead, the Springboks remain just 0.15 points adrift of Ireland in the rankings.
France and New Zealand stay in third and fourth place after Les Bleus came out on top when the sides met in the opening fixture in Paris on Friday.
Rugby World Cup fixtures carry double points in the rankings, sponsored by tournament sponsor Capgemini.
The All Blacks still have a sizeable 4.26-point cushion over fifth-place Scotland, who have England breathing down their necks.
England picked up 3.27 points for their 27-10 win against Argentina in Marseille, which takes them up to sixth place on 83.22 points overall. The gap between themselves and Scotland is now just 0.21 points.
It was the World Rankings that determined that Ireland, France, South Africa and New Zealand should all be on the same side of the draw this time around, as that was where they said they should be two years out from the competition.
In that sense they do matter when it comes to looking ahead already to 2027. And it is nice to be ranked as the number one team in the world.
