Australia drop below Argentina in World Rugby rankings

Australia have slipped below Argentina in World Rugby’s global rankings following their back-to-back defeats in the Bledisloe Cup against New Zealand.

On top of several former players calling on the Wallabies to scrap Giteau’s Law in order to free the hands of the coaches and selectors, this news heaps extra pressure on Rugby Australia.

After previously winning their home series against France by a 2-1 margin, these two defeats – which saw New Zealand take the Bledisloe Cup for a 19th consecutive year – mean the Wallabies slip to seventh position in the rankings.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper’s post-match press conference

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper’s post-match press conference

This is the joint lowest position Dave Rennie’s team have occupied since the rankings system was introduced on 2003. The extent of their current struggles is further underlined by them never being out of the top six prior to 2018.

Argentina also lost at the weekend – by a 12-32 margin in Port Elizabeth against South Africa – but despite this now lead Australia by a tiny margin.

Unsurprisingly, World Cup holders South Africa remain almost five points clear at the head of the table.

The All Blacks, who lie in second place, closed the gap by 0.18 points following their 57-22 Eden Park success.

Despite their average Six Nations showing third-placed England lead the Northern Hemisphere challenge.

Eddie Jones’ team currently sit 0.41 rating points ahead of Ireland with France a further 0.98 ranking points in arrears.

Scotland’s recent upward curve is underlined by Gregor Townsend’s team now sitting one place behind Argentina and Australia in eighth place.

With Rugby Australia looking likely to scrap or at least radically change Giteau's Law, we look at the Aussies currently plying their trade overseas. https://t.co/CpLFRP5zhd

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 15, 2021

However, despite becoming Six Nations champions in the spring following a campaign in which they lost only one match, Wales now lie ninth in the rankings.

This reflects their poor run of form since 2019 when they briefly climbed to the top of the World Rugby rankings pile.

The other interesting storyline from a European perspective sees Georgia rated two positions higher than Italy whose long losing run in the Six Nations has regularly led to calls for change.