26 - 23

Red Roses are the top-rated rugby team of all-time

171 days ago

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - OCTOBER 12: Zoe Aldcroft of England collects the ball from a lineout during the WXV1 Pool match between Canada and England at BC Place on October 12, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Rich Lam - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Back-to-back WXV 1 champions England have become the highest-rated team – men’s or women’s – in the history of the World Rugby Rankings.

The Red Roses gained 0.60 points for their hard-fought 21-12 win over Canada in Sunday’s title decider at BC Place in Vancouver, to increase their advantage over the tournament hosts at the top of the rankings to 8.25 points.

Before this weekend no team had ever broken through the 97-point barrier since rankings were first introduced (for men’s teams) in 2003 – not even the All Blacks or the Springboks during their periods of dominance.

But the Red Roses have now smashed through that glass ceiling, as their 20th consecutive win will boost their rating to 97.56 points once World Rugby officially updates the rankings at 12 noon on Monday (BST). Their previous best, and the best of any team, was 96.99 points, which was established just before their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 final defeat to New Zealand in November 2022.

A fierce contest in Vancouver 👊
Enjoy highlights of the #RedRoses’ @WXVRugby decider against hosts Canada.#CANvENG | #WXV pic.twitter.com/TcznchUooY
— Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) October 13, 2024

Canada remain in second place, on 89.31 points, while New Zealand and France are third and fourth, respectively, after the Black Ferns beat Les Bleues 39-14 in their final game.

As the top four ranked teams ahead of Thursday’s draw for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, England, Canada, New Zealand and France will be placed in band one.

Having secured the WXV 2 title after a 31-22 win over reigning champions Scotland, Australia are the highest ranked team in band two, moving up from seventh to fifth.

WXV 1 runners-up Ireland are the next highest ranked team in sixth, and both they and Australia will be joined in band two by Scotland, who have dropped to seventh and Italy. The Azzurre climbed into band two after gaining a place for their 23-19 win over hosts South Africa.

USA’s 26-14 defeat to Ireland has seen them drop to ninth, and into band three, along with Wales, Japan and South Africa.

Band four includes WXV 3 champions Spain, runners-up Samoa, Fiji and the lowest-ranked team in the competition, Brazil.

Comments

4 Comments

Petrus78 170 days ago

To compare women's rugby to men's is ridiculous .....can't be done ....let's compare apples with apples RP

Roger 170 days ago

I'm a long time supporter of England Rugby Male and Female. But what these woman have done is absolutely fantastic, the male team should take their inspiration from these woman, they play with so much commitment and pride they deserve to be recognised for there achievements. Sadly our pathetic sports reporter's and MSM do not give them the credit they are vastly over due. I am embarrassed as an England Rugby fan that there superb achievements are not recognised because of a pathetic media.

Keep going ladies, you make me proud to support you.

Roger 😘👍😁

BC 171 days ago

I would imagine that the band 2 teams would like to be in England’s group. So if they can beat the teams from bands 3 and 4 they wouldn’t presumably have to play England again until the Final, though World Rugby I don’t think have stated yet how the QFs and SFs will be decided. Surely they must know but they are not telling anyone.

Bull Shark 171 days ago

So England can play rugby after all.

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Latest Features

LONG READ

Munster-ROG reunion a ‘love story’ but no return likely for La Rochelle boss

Munster and La Rochelle have "given him the most in rugby", but Ronan O'Gara has no plans to return home soon.

LONG READ

Mick Cleary: 'Can we have our Champions Cup back, please?'

A game between two three-time winners of the Champions Cup should whet the appetite of fans but Saracens' weakened side risks its credibility

LONG READ

Why NZR's Ineos settlement may be the most important victory they'll enjoy this year

The decision by Ineos to renege on a lucrative six-year deal was looking like having a catastrophic impact on NZRU's finances

Comments on RugbyPass

Jordon 15 minutes ago

Waratahs address dropping Taniela Tupou from starting team

The scrum was one area the waratahs had the edge on the canes last week. Numia in particulsr struggled against tupou and was lucky not to get pinged more often. Tupous mobility round the field is still a concern though

2 Go to comments

Cantab 24 minutes ago

I do worry seeing the Crusaders get manhandled by Moana Pasifika

Let's not forget the Crusaders also got spanked by the Chiefs as well. Poor defence was an issue in that game too. Hopefully motivation will have returned in spades but let's see.

11 Go to comments

JB 30 minutes ago

Don't get out over your skis on the Highlanders

As a devoted father of two, my primary concern has always been the safety and well-being of my family. This commitment to my family's security was put to the test on February 6, 2025, when I embarked on a quest to find a trustworthy home security system that could offer us the protection we needed. After conducting some research online, I stumbled upon a security company that seemed promising, and I took the initiative to reach out through their messaging platform. Hours later, my phone rang, and I was greeted by a representative claiming to be from a well-known home security company. They were reaching out to inform me about a special promotional offer, which immediately piqued my interest. However, as the promised week came and went without so much as a peep from the company, my feelings of unease began to escalate. I attempted to contact the company again to inquire about the delay, only to find that the number I had called was suddenly disconnected. It was at that moment—when the reality of the situation hit me—that I understood I had fallen victim to a scam. The devastation that followed was profound; losing $40,000 was not merely a financial setback but a personal failure in my eyes—an inability to safeguard my family's future. The experience left me feeling vulnerable, exposed, and utterly defeated. Determined to reclaim my lost resources, I knew that swift action was essential. I turned to the internet for help and began researching options for recovering my funds. During this search, I came across BOTNET CRYPTO RECOVERY, a company with a track record of assisting individuals who had encountered similar unfortunate situations. Intrigued by the success stories of people who had benefited from their services, I made the decision to reach out to them. From the moment I contacted BOTNET CRYPTO RECOVERY, I was met with professionalism and empathy. Their team was understanding of my plight and remained reassuring throughout the process. They immediately set to work on investigating the fraudulent transaction and kept me informed at every step, alleviating some of the anxiety that had consumed me since the incident.Thanks to their diligence, expertise, and unwavering commitment, BOTNET CRYPTO RECOVERY was eventually able to recover an astounding $35,800 of the $40,000 I had lost. The relief I felt was immeasurable; it was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Not only did they help restore my finances, but they also provided me with something

invaluable—peace of mind.Their contact info is listed below.

+1 (431) 801-8951

botnetcryptorecovery@groupmail.com

4 Go to comments

SC 1 hour ago

Why NZR's Ineos settlement may be the most important victory they'll enjoy this year

And before so one retorts that playing in Japan’s Top League makes you soft, I did not see any soft Springboks out on the pitch against the All Blacks last August/ September.

10 Go to comments

SC 1 hour ago

Why NZR's Ineos settlement may be the most important victory they'll enjoy this year

If your point is that it is time to allow All Blacks with 50 or more test caps to play in Japan where they can make big money paid by Japanese corporations instead of by NZR, play fewer club matches in a less physical league to preserve their aging bodies, and still be available for the entire test season. then I agree with you.

This would also allow NZR to use the money to play higher wages to new All Blacks playing in Super Rugby encouraging them to stay in NZ longer and pursue the 50 All Black caps dream longer.

10 Go to comments

Rucknroll 1 hour ago

Blues lose All Black for season ahead of Hurricanes derby

Man…prop ain’t a issue. We are seeing now tge same issue the all blacks were having. 13 ain’t flowing and the class the blues like the ABs have in the backline ain’t firing. We blamed 10…we looked at Reece…reality is, how does sevu go from top try scorer last year and current to barely touching the ball during the tour. When a 13 that actually sets up is inside sevu, he shines. But we don’t question the 13(reiko) much, he was a winger that is used to finishing and playing isolated. Not strong or physical enough to crack the midfield. He ain’t setting noone up. Barely looks for options when he has ball in hand(that’s if he catches it first).Both tries this year finishing on the wing. I think reikos time is up.

2 Go to comments

Chris_Jackson 2 hours ago

130kg France prop given suspended sentence for attack on partner

Reach out to RecoveryBureauC (at) g m a iL, to monitor your suspected cheating partner’s phone with ease

2 Go to comments

BA 2 hours ago

Waratahs address dropping Taniela Tupou from starting team

Moving a prop from starting to bench is kinda par for course

2 Go to comments

Chris_Jackson 2 hours ago

Can Samoa and Tonga ever become contenders when their top talent is skimmed?

RecoveryBureauC (at)gmail, com offers five star mobile phone monitoring and assets recovery solution. The new AI technology has been the latest trick used by many fake cryptocurrency investment theft. I fell for this deceit just last week when I got a phone call from someone who impersonated my close friend and introduced me to this investment project. He describes just exactly like her and how she's been benefiting from the profits of the investment so I decided to invest not

knowing I would get tricked. I almost lost about 858,000 USDT of my inheritance funds and money borrowed from different loan agents on this Chinese investment platform.

After few days of losing this huge funds I did thorough search for help and I found RecoveryBureauC (at)gmail, cOm whom I reported my situation. I opened a case with this team and they assured me of a swift action immediately. To my surprise within few hours I reached out to them they were able to retrieve the first tranche of my stolen funds and the remaining subsequently. Their services were seamless and perfect without any hassle. I'm glad I got rescued and I'll urge you to look this firm up for all asset recovery help. Other services are phone monitoring, catch a suspected cheating spouse, tax evasion, boost of credit scores, upgrade of results, erasing of bad debts etc

Contact info:

RECOVERYBUREAUC (at)Gmail, C0M..

17 Go to comments

DM 2 hours ago

Can Samoa and Tonga ever become contenders when their top talent is skimmed?

1) Not sure but if the stand down period was say 5 years would he have ever played for them in the first place? Tonga did nothing towards his development, he’s never lived in the country.

2) It’s a mix at the moment. As you know Tonga and Samoa have always been made up largely of NZ born and/or raised players. It’s always been the case that the islands are the second option for NZ players who don’t quite make the ABs.

3) No it should be much longer, same as the residency rules should be longer than 5 years too. Would stop a fully fledged professional from one country representing another.

17 Go to comments

Thomas Hartnett 3 hours ago

Munster-ROG reunion a ‘love story’ but no return likely for La Rochelle boss

I can't wait, it's gonna be a cracker!

1 Go to comments

JD Kiwi 3 hours ago

Razor has an about turn on All Blacks eligibility rules

By system I mean keeping the best players at home. Currently only Frizell and Mo’unga away which is very good considering the money available overseas. A bit more flexible and it could be even fewer.

52 Go to comments

JD Kiwi 3 hours ago

Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

Too kind 😂