Springboks' No.1 status in world rankings coming under increased threat

In seeing off Italy in back-to-back Tests and then comfortably beating Georgia 55-10, South Africa extended their winning run in Test rugby to seven matches. It is their best run since they swept all before them at RWC 2019, following their early loss to New Zealand, and beat Georgia on their return to the Test arena after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The series of relatively straightforward matches has also enabled Rassie Erasmus to blood new talent, including a rookie front row against Georgia – Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche – ahead of The Rugby Championship and with an eye on their Rugby World Cup title defence in 2027.

What it hasn’t done, though, is improve the Springboks’ rating in the world rankings, as no points were awarded to them for any of their wins, which has allowed New Zealand to eat away at their advantage at the top.

The Springboks have been number one since mid-November last year, when they replaced Ireland, and entered the year with a clear two-point lead over the All Blacks.

In contrast to the Springboks, the All Blacks have picked up points in each of their wins in the 3-0 series victory over France, even though Les Bleus travelled with a weakened team, to the extent that they now only trail by 0.72 points.

The gap could have been closer, but New Zealand’s 29-19 win in Hamilton fell just below the required margin to earn them more than the 0.34 points that they received.

This means that the Springboks’ status as the world’s number one is now seriously under threat, with them possibly being replaced at the top by the All Blacks after the opening weekend of The Rugby Championship on August 16.

South Africa host Australia at Ellis Park, while the All Blacks travel to Cordoba to take on Argentina. If both the world’s top two win, the Springboks will likely retain their place at the top, just.

Their rating won’t improve, given they’re at home and playing a side well below them, but it’s doubtful that the All Blacks will get enough points to wipe off the 0.72 deficit, as they’re also playing a team with a significantly lower rating, albeit away from home.

France, meanwhile, have hung on to fourth place despite suffering three straight defeats, as fifth-place England did not pick up any points for their 40-5 win over the USA in Washington, DC.

New Zealand were one of four teams in the top 20 of the rankings to increase their rating this weekend, although none of the changes led to an improved position.

Eighth-place Scotland recovered some of the ground they lost after their defeat to Fiji with their 41-12 win over Samoa, earning them 0.20 points.

Spain received the same amount of points after beating Canada 24-23, thanks to a penalty with the last kick of the game.

Chile were the only other team in the top 20 to increase their rating, a 35-21 win away to Brazil seeing their rating boosted by 0.63 points.

The big news coming out of Africa is Zimbabwe qualifying for the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1991. Having successfully defended their Africa Cup title after a 30-28 win over Namibia, the Sables are now at an all-time high of 24th.

How the top 20 of the rankings will look when they are officially updated at 12pm (BST) on Monday:

1. South Africa 92.78
2. New Zealand 92.06
3. Ireland 89.83
4. France 87.82
5. England 87.64
6. Australia 82.08
7. Argentina 82.05
8. Scotland 81.57
9. Fiji 80.50
10. Italy 77.77
11. Georgia 74.69
12. Wales 74.05
13. Samoa 72.48
14. Japan 72.29
15. Spain 69.12
16. USA 68.45
17. Uruguay 67.52
18. Portugal 66.44
19. Tonga 65.46
20. Chile 63.83