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Ireland's No.1 ranking under serious threat this weekend
Ireland’s 14-month reign as the No.1 side in the World Rugby ranking is in imminent danger this weekend as the opening matches of the Rugby World Cup get underway in France.
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Ireland enters their second consecutive tournament as the top-ranked team in the world. However, this coveted status hangs in the balance, with as many as three different teams eyeing the opportunity to dethrone them from the number one spot.
And with double-ranking points on offer during the Rugby World Cup, there is bound to be massive movement over the coming weeks in what is an already super tight table.
Andy Farrell’s Irish squad currently holds a slim 0.74-point lead over the reigning world champions, South Africa. Nevertheless, their position is precarious, as they won’t be able to enhance their ranking with a victory over the much lower-ranked Romania.
The real threat comes from results in New Zealand and South Africa’s first Rugby World Cup matches, with Ireland hoping Scotland and France can do them a favour in their respective games against the southern hemisphere heavyweights.
South Africa stands to gain a maximum of 0.88 points if they beat Scotland by more than 15 points. Such an outcome would catapult them to the top of the rankings, unless New Zealand manages to secure a similar victory against France in the tournament’s opening match on Friday.
Rugby World Cup
Pool A
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
France
0
0
0
0
0
2
Italy
0
0
0
0
0
3
Namibia
0
0
0
0
0
4
New Zealand
0
0
0
0
0
5
Uruguay
0
0
0
0
0
Pool B
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Ireland
0
0
0
0
0
2
Romania
0
0
0
0
0
3
Scotland
0
0
0
0
0
4
South Africa
0
0
0
0
0
5
Tonga
0
0
0
0
0
Pool C
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Australia
0
0
0
0
0
2
Fiji
0
0
0
0
0
3
Georgia
0
0
0
0
0
4
Portugal
0
0
0
0
0
5
Wales
0
0
0
0
0
Pool D
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Argentina
0
0
0
0
0
2
Chile
0
0
0
0
0
3
England
0
0
0
0
0
4
Japan
0
0
0
0
0
5
Samoa
0
0
0
0
0
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In this scenario, the All Blacks would leap from fourth to first place with a rating of 93.01 points. It’s noteworthy that New Zealand hasn’t held the top ranking since November 2021.
To reclaim the top spot, host nation France must defeat New Zealand and hope that both Ireland and South Africa fail to win their respective Pool B matches against Romania and Scotland.
For Les Bleus, this ambition can only be achieved if neither Ireland nor South Africa emerges victorious in their contests.
Scotland, on the other hand, has a chance to rise to second place by beating the Springboks by more than 15 points, coupled with an Irish loss and a draw in the match between France and New Zealand.
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For Fiji, a win over Wales could potentially elevate them to sixth place if England and Argentina draw. Alternatively, a big victory for Fiji and a smaller win for England over Argentina could also secure sixth place for the Fijians.
Australia and England also have the opportunity to move up three places in the rankings with wins, contingent on favorable scorelines and other match outcomes.
Georgia eyes a historic place in the top 10 if they can defeat Australia in their RWC 2023 opener. Conversely, Australia, currently at their lowest ranking of ninth, faces the risk of dropping out of the top 10 if they suffer a sixth consecutive defeat.
Wales is also at risk of falling out of the top 10 for the first time with a defeat.
Japan’s rating remains stagnant even with a victory over Rugby World Cup debutants Chile due to a significant point difference between the teams. However, a loss would see them slip below Tonga and possibly Portugal if the margin exceeds 15 points.
Chile could potentially enter the top 20 for the first time depending on the margin of victory and the outcome of Italy’s match against Namibia.
Romania and Namibia, as underdogs, have the potential to improve their positions with surprise victories against Six Nations sides Ireland and Italy.
Namibia’s best-case scenario with a first-ever Rugby World Cup victory is a climb of four places, surpassing their previous best ranking of 19th.
Romania’s return to the Rugby World Cup stage could yield an impressive five-place jump if they manage to cause one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
Comments on RugbyPass
Don’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
41 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
41 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
41 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
39 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
41 Go to comments