All Blacks hurdle France in World Rugby rankings

The All Blacks‘ 38-7 victory over the Wallabies in Melbourne has propelled them to second place in the latest World Rugby Men’s Rankings. The All Blacks’ triumph allowed them to leapfrog France and narrow the gap between themselves and the top-ranked team, Ireland.

New Zealand’s third-place standing made them the highest-ranked team in action going into the weekend. Their victory against Australia in Melbourne was enough to erase the narrow gap between them and France, securing second position in the rankings.

Australia, on the other hand, though unable to fall below eighth place, had an opportunity to climb as many as three places to fifth if Eddie Jones’ side could manage a win against the All Blacks at the MCG, but it wasn’t to be.

South Africa’s fourth-place standing means that they can’t improve their rating or position solely through victory over Argentina in Johannesburg later today.

The Wallabies’ loss helps Argentina, who currently sit in seventh place, as their ranking position was dependent on Australia’s performance. A defeat for Los Pumas combined with a win for Australia would have resulted in a fall to eighth, provided Scotland don’t lose to Italy later today. In any event, the Wallabies’ loss means that won’t happen.

A victory over the Springboks by a significant margin could send Argentina up to fifth, their highest position since June 2016.

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Scotland could face the risk of dropping to eighth if they are beaten by Italy today and other results went against them.

Italy for their part have a chance to reclaim a spot in the top 10 for the first time in over a decade, if they beat Scotland by more than 15 points. A win of this magnitude would also see them climb above Samoa into ninth place.

Fiji’s 33-19 victory over Samoa saw them become the higher-ranked of the two nations and they will potentially break the top 10, depending on other results this weekend. Samoa would have climbed above Wales had they beaten Fiji by more than 15 in Apia.

If Japan hold off Tonga in Japan – a big if – they will retain 12th and narrow the gap on Georgia in 11th.