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Six Nations finale could bring strangest world rankings twist of all for England
By Jon Newcombe
It seems incredulous given what has happned in the past month, but it’s still possible for England to finish one of their worst-performing Six Nations campaigns higher than any of their northern hemipshere rivals in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.
England head to Paris for the final match of the championship against France on the back of three straight losses and languishing in fifth place in the Six Nations standings.
Having kicked off the championship at the start of Janaury ranked third on 89.41 points and as one of the favourites for the title, Steve Borthwick’s side have slipped to sixth in the rankings with 5.07 points docked from their rating.
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Yet here we are. England will leapfrog France and move up to fourth place if they spoil France’s party and leave the Stade de France with any form of win. However, if they beat France by 16 points or more and Scotland have won by the same margin in Dublin in the earliest of Saturday’s three matches, then England will be restored to third and headed by only South Africa and New Zealand.
The odds on either happening are very long indeed. It’s 10 years since England last won on French soil, and the last time that they won by the required margin in the championship was 31-13 at the Parcs des Princes in the old Five Nations in 1992.
Scotland, meanwhile, have never won at the Aviva Stadium, with their last away win against Ireland occuring at Croke Park in 2010. And you have to go way back, to 1984, to find the only time Scotland have won by 16 points or more as the away team in the fixture.
The more likely scenario is that Ireland will remain in third. Ireland have won their last 11 meetings with Scotland in all competitions but only need a draw to hold onto their current ranking.
They can even afford to lose and still retain third place if Les Bleus fail to beat England. However, an Ireland defeat coupled with a win for France will result in Les Bleus replacing them in third.
Scotland will match their previous best of fifth in the rankings if they keep their title hopes alive with a resounding win in Dublin.
Eighth place is the highest that Italy can climb to this weekend, jumping above Australia and Fiji, with a win over Wales in Cardiff.
An Italian win will result in their hosts Wales falling one place to 13th falling, below Georgia, unlss the Lelos lose to Portugal in the Rugby Europe Men’s Championship final in Madrid.
However, if Wales can break their three-year Men’s Six Nations losing streak and beat Italy, they will move above Japan into 11th.
One thing is certain, South Africa and New Zealand are untouchable as the top two.
Current World Rugby Rankings – Top 12
1. South Africa – 93.94
2. New Zealand – 90.33
3. Ireland – 88.89
4. France – 87.03
5. Argentina – 84.97
6. England – 84.34
7. Scotland – 83.08
8. Australia – 81.53
9. Fiji – 81.14
10. Italy – 81.09
11. Japan – 74.09
12. Wales – 73.62
