Australia drop to record low as World Rugby rankings released

After suffering a 24-8 defeat in Sydney to South Africa, the Wallabies have dropped to a new low in World Rugby’s rankings.

After three straight wins over the Springboks on home soil, the loss for Dave Rennie’s side saw them slip from sixth to eighth, overtaken by both Argentina and Scotland.

Despite being on the receiving end of a 53-3 defeat to New Zealand, Los Pumas were able to move up one spot likely on the strength of their win the previous week.

The All Blacks were able to climb up one position into fourth over England, who slipped to fifth.

The top three remain unchanged with South Africa holding on to third while Ireland and France continue to hold first and second.

Australia will now face New Zealand in their two remaining Rugby Championship tests, which double up as the Bledisloe Cup series.

They are half a point behind Wales and could potentially slip further on the back of a poor showing.

2022 has been a bumpy ride for Rennie’s side who opened their July series with a heroic 30-28 win over England while down to 14-men but stumbled in the following two tests to lose the home series 2-1.

An impressive performance in Argentina in the opening round of The Rugby Championship was followed up by a heavy defeat in the rematch as they failed to handle kicks in the backfield effectively.

They bounced back in Adelaide to surprise South Africa 25-18 before last weekend’s 24-8 loss in a test full of niggle that became uncorked in the final ten minutes.