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All Blacks concede latest injuries have left leadership hole ahead of decider
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Rugby's Greatest Rivalry finale will decide World Rankings supremacy
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The number one spot in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings could change hands for the third time since the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series began in August.
If the All Blacks win this week’s concluding Test in Baltimore and level the series at 2-2, they will once again be rated as the best team in the world, a status that most Springboks would dispute, given they have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups.
New Zealand’s victory in the first Test at Ellis Park ended the Springboks’ 11-month reign at the top of the rankings, but they were only able to hold onto that position for a week after being beaten in the second Test in Cape Town.
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Last weekend’s 29-24 win in Soweto pushed the Springboks further clear in the rankings, their improved rating of 94.33 points giving them a 2.43-point lead over the All Blacks.
However, a win for the All Blacks would result in at least a 2.5-point swing, enabling them to wipe out the deficit and leapfrog the Springboks.
Alternatively, South Africa could extend their lead at the top to as many as 4.70 points with a good win in Baltimore.
Both of this weekend’s Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup semi-finals carry rankings point, too, with the competition’s traditionally strongest teams, Fiji and Japan, in danger of losing ground if they slip up against their respective North American opponents, Canada and USA.
An unthinkable defeat to Canada, who they last to in 2013 and trail them by 15 places in the rankings, will result in reigning Pacific Nations Cup champions Fiji dropping out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since July 2024.
Equally, 2025 runners-up Japan will fall below Georgia to 13th if they lose to a United States side enjoying the momentum of four straight wins.
While Canada will make some progress up the rankings if they pull off a shock result, USA will remain in 14th regardless of whether they beat the Brave Blossoms.
A win for either Fiji and Japan will not lead to any positional changes for the teams involved.
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