The World Rankings prize at stake if Ireland conquer All Blacks' fortress

Thirty-two years and 52 matches have passed since New Zealand were last beaten at Eden Park, and no All Blacks coach or player wants that to end on their watch, especially not Dave Rennie so early in his reign in charge of the team.

Ireland are the latest team to attempt to topple the All Blacks at their iconic Auckland fortress, which has repelled all invaders since France emerged triumphant there in 1994, thanks to Jean-Luc Sadourny’s 78th-minute try.

With Ireland only one place and 1.72 points behind the All Blacks in third in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, Andy Farrell’s side have a better chance than most of ending that proud All Blacks record, although it is less than 12 months ago that the mighty Springboks came unstuck there.

Given the close proximity of the sides in the rankings, a win for Ireland would see them move up to second at the All Blacks’ expense, with an improved rating of 90.49 points, or 91.08 if the margin of victory exceeds 15 points. New Zealand’s rating could fall to as low as 89.28 if they implode.

As unlikely as an All Blacks defeat at Eden Park is, the chances would appear far greater than a defeat for South Africa at home to Wales. Both teams are at very different stages of their development than they were when Wales last won on South African soil in Bleomfontein in 2022.

However, if Wales pull off what would surely be the biggest shock in world rugby, the Springboks could lose their position at the top of the rankings, which they have held since September last year, with New Zealand and Ireland standing a chance, albeit very slim, of replacing them.

Whoever wins out of Ireland and New Zealand – as long as it is by 16 points or more – will oust the Springboks from No.1, as long as Rassie Erasmus’ men also slip up against a team ranked 11 places lower.

Like South Africa, fourth-placed France won’t receive any rankings reward for beating Japan, while England, in fifth, can onlly climb the rankings with a win over Argentina if Les Bleus also lose.

Once again, Scotland have an opportunity to equal their highest-ever ranking fifth, which they last achieved only a fortnight ago following their win over Argentina, although this is dependent on the margin of victory gaainst Fiji and the outcome of other matches.

England and Argentina, who are seventh, will swap places if Los Pumas emulate their footballing heroes and win three days after their FIFA World Cup semi-final success.

Meanwhile, Australia could drop below Italy if they are beaten by the Azzurri for the third consecutive match in Joe Schmidt’s final match in charge.

As for the teams competing in the third round of the World Rugby Nations Cup, Portugal, Chile and Zimbabwe could all move to their highest-ever positions, while Romania face the danger of falling to an all-time low if they do badly against Samoa.

Portugal take on Tonga, who are five places below them in the rankings, Chile face the higher-ranked Georgia and Zimbabwe are up against a Canadian team currently sitting two places above them.

In the other fixtures, Uruguay will be confident of seeing off Hong Kong China, while the game of the day is quite possibly the United States’ clash with Spain, where a win for Los Leones would lift them above the Eagles in the rankings.

World Rugby Men’s Rankings – Top 25

1. South Africa – 93.96 (-)
2. New Zealand – 91.04 (-)
3. Ireland – 89.32 (-)
4. France – 87.43 (-)
5. England – 84.75 (+1)
6. Scotland – 84.09 (-1)
7. Argentina – 84.06 (-)
8. Australia – 80.60 (-)
9. Fiji – 78.69 (-)
10. Italy – 77.31 (-)
11. Japan – 76.42 (+1)
12. Wales – 76.38 (-1)
13. Georgia – 73.30 (-)
14. USA – 69.40 (-)
15. Portugal – 68.67 (-)
16. Spain – 67.66 (+4)
17. Uruguay – 67.62 (-1)
18. Chile – 67.59 (-1)
19. Samoa – 66.27 (-1)
20. Tonga – 65.85 (-1)
21. Belgium – 61.03 (-)
22. Romania – 60.92 (-)
23. Canada – 59.46 (-)
24. Hong Kong China – 58.86 (-)
25. Zimbabwe – 58.59 (-)

*change from the previous week in brackets