Rugby World Cup power rankings: Week One's movers and shakers in Japan
The first week of action certainly delivered at the Rugby World Cup in Japan and there are a number of alterations needed to the initial RugbyPass power rankings from before the tournament opener.
All teams have now played at least one game at the tournament and from Uruguay’s shock win over Fiji to Ireland’s complete domination of Scotland, a number of teams are set to rise and fall in the rankings below.
One position which has not changed, however, is that of the team we had leading the way going into the competition.
- New Zealand (Previous rank: 1)
Only the one game for the All Blacks so far, although it was a relatively comfortable win over their biggest rivals in Pool B, South Africa. Unless Italy can muster something special, Steve Hansen and his side are now unlikely to be too sternly tested before the quarter-finals of the competition.
- Ireland (Previous rank: 4, up 2)
Ireland blew Scotland away in their tournament opener and although Joe Schmidt’s side have been favoured to top Pool A since the group draws were made, very few expected the comprehensive nature of the win. A potential banana skin against hosts Japan awaits this weekend, but if they can get through that unscathed, they should secure favourable seeding for the knockout rounds.
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- England (Previous rank: 3)
Eddie Jones’ side are one of the few to have played two games already and they have dealt with both professionally. The crunch games are yet to come for England, though. Thus their lack of movement in these rankings with Argentina and France next up. That said, their defence and set-piece are both standing out.
- South Africa (Previous rank: 2, down 2)
The Springboks are a little unlucky to drop here, given that their only game has come against New Zealand. That said, while they were physical in defence and boasted a strong set-piece in that game with the All Blacks, their precision in their attacking phase play and kicking game left a little to be desired. It won’t prevent them making the quarter-finals, but it could be an issue beyond that.
- Wales (Previous rank: 5)
Wales and Warren Gatland got their World Cup underway with a win over Georgia, although they will refrain from too much enthusiasm with the Lelos enjoying a strong spell between the 30th and 70th minute. It was efficient and comfortable from Wales, without the killer edge that they may need to discover against Australia this weekend.
https://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup/status/1176915518596337664?s=20
- Australia (Previous rank: 6)
A similar story to Wales for Australia who did a solid job against Fiji but came away with a number of areas they need to work on if they want to progress in the knockout rounds. Australia and Wales are due to face each other in Tokyo on Sunday, a contest which should prove pivotal in deciding the final standings of Pool D, especially following Fiji’s shock loss to Uruguay.
- France (Previous rank: 7)
An extremely bright first half from France against Argentina had them initially pencilled in for a modest rise here, although an error-strewn second half was far more reminiscent of France’s performances over the last four years. Crucially, though, they got the win and are now in a good position to make the quarter-finals.
- Japan (Previous rank: 10, up 2)
Japan’s opener against Russia wasn’t without its errors and nervous moments for the hosts, even though they secured the bonus point win and there were moments of promise there for Jamie Joseph’s side. If they can knock off the rust further against Ireland in Shizuoka on Saturday, they will fancy their chances of beating Samoa and Scotland and making the knockout rounds.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1177158711686524929?s=20
- Argentina (Previous rank: 9)
No alteration for Argentina who, true to the form books, fell to a narrow loss to France on Saturday. It now means that they will need to win against England to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. It’s an outcome their quality of player is capable of, although results in recent years for both sides show that it is unlikely.
- Italy (Previous rank: 12, up 2)
Slightly nervy in their opener against Namibia, before looking much more clinical against Canada. The two big games in Pool B still await Italy despite wrapping up a full 10 points from their opening two games. They have at least given themselves a puncher’s chance of qualification.
- Georgia (Previous rank: 13, up 2)
The Lelos had 40 minutes of very competitive rugby against Wales, which will buoy them ahead of taking on the rest of their Pool D opponents. Their slow start was too much to come back from, however, and their rise here is more to do with the falls of Scotland and Fiji than it is with their loss to Wales.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1177186765528096768
- Scotland (Previous rank: 8, down 4)
It really was a woeful performance from Scotland in Yokohama against Ireland. As good as their Six Nations rivals were, Scotland were equally bad. The schedule now works against them, as they build to a potentially climactic contest with Japan at the end of the pool – assuming they can get passed Samoa first.
- Samoa (Previous rank: 14, up 1)
Samoa were lucky against Russia in terms of two of their players not seeing red cards for high tackles, although the difference in class did begin to show in the second half. They could end Scotland’s World Cup ambitions on Monday when the two sides meet in Kobe, although the Europeans will still be the favourites going in.
- Uruguay (Previous rank: 17, up 3)
Uruguay put in a wonderfully composed and ambitious performance against Fiji and were rewarded with four points in what is only the third World Cup win in their history. Context says Fiji rotated their squad and were on a short turnaround and that Uruguay are not going to qualify from Pool D, but their performance in Kamaishi warrants them this bump up the rankings.
https://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup/status/1176908738072109056?s=20
- Fiji (Previous: 11, down 4)
Fiji were competitive with Australia initially before the Wallabies tightened up their game. Then a heavily rotated side were part of a surprising loss to Uruguay on Wednesday. They still have the players to beat Georgia and at least worry Wales, but the two losses so far have realistically ended any hopes they may have had of reaching the knockout rounds.
- Tonga (Previous rank: 16)
Expectations were, more or less, met in Tonga’s opening game of the World Cup. They kept the scoreline respectable against England and were able to disrupt some of the European side’s phase play, but they never really looked like troubling England’s try line, let alone the result.
- USA (Previous rank: 15, down 2)
The USA really didn’t offer any sort of threat to England on Thursday in Kobe. They struggled to maintain possession, breach the English defence and live with their opponent’s set-piece. They will need to offer more when they play France next Wednesday.
- Namibia (Previous rank: 18)
They had moments of real quality against Italy where they looked as though they could cause problems for the tier one teams, although they were isolated and the Azzurri never really had to go any further than third gear to see off the challenge. The African nation will have their game with Canada well and truly circled.
- Russia (Previous rank: 20, up 1)
Russia may have lost both their games so far in the tournament, but they have shown an abundance of heart and no lack of ability in the process, thus their minor jump up the rankings. They rattled Japan in the opener and then were extremely unlucky not to get something from their game with Samoa where the Islanders were fortunate not to see red cards for two of their players, both of whom have since been cited.
- Canada (Previous rank: 19, down 1)
Comfortably beaten by an Italian team on a short turnaround, it was far from the most encouraging of World Cup openers for Canada. On that form, they will be hard-pressed to keep New Zealand and South Africa to less than a point a minute in their upcoming match-ups. What chances Canada did create were prematurely ended by a litany of handling errors.
WATCH: The latest RugbyPass World Cup documentary, Tonga: Road to Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
Shame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
2 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
2 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to comments