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There's only one way Ireland can grab rankings top spot from Boks
By Ian Cameron
Ireland’s rugby team faces a formidable task this weekend as they seek to regain the top spot in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings from reigning world champions South Africa.
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Last weekend, South Africa narrowly edged out Ireland in Pretoria with a 27-20 win, solidifying their position at the top of the rankings.
To wrestle back the No.1 spot – which they haven’t held since last year’s Rugby World Cup – Ireland must secure a victory against the Springboks by more than 15 points in their second Test in Durban.
Anything less will leave them trailing by 0.99 rating points.
A defeat would drop Ireland to third, with New Zealand moving up to second if they secure a win against Steve Borthwick’s England in Eden Park.
South Africa could extend their lead at the top of the rankings depending on the margin of victory and the outcome of the New Zealand vs. England match.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s ranking will not fall below third as France cannot accumulate enough points, even with a maximum gain of 0.70 rating points from a win against Argentina.
France recently secured a 43-28 victory over Uruguay, but the match did not affect their rating due to the significant points difference between the teams.
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If France loses to Argentina and England beats New Zealand, England could replace France at fourth in the rankings.
Victory by more than 15 points for England will see them jump to third and will – if France and Argentina draw in Buenos Aires – condemn the All Blacks to a record-equalling low of fifth.
In other matches, Scotland, currently sixth, will not improve their ranking with a win over the USA due to the points differential. However, Argentina could overtake Scotland if they beat France and Scotland loses to the USA.
If Scotland’s match with the Eagles ends in a draw, Argentina would need a 15-point victory over France to climb to sixth.
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Eighth placed Australia could be replaced by Italy if the latter wins against Tonga by more than 15 points, matching their highest historical ranking.
Wales – having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time – could quickly return by beating Australia, which would push the Wallabies to an all-time low of 11th.
Wales will not drop below 11th even if they lose.
Fiji – in 10th place – will remain there as they are not playing this weekend. However, they could gain a place if Tonga defeats Italy by more than 15 points. Japan – currently 12th – could be overtaken if they lose to Georgia and Samoa beats Spain.
Georgia could also move up with a victory over Japan, depending on other results.
Portugal, ranked 16th, can only improve their ranking with a win over Namibia, combined with a significant loss for Tonga against Italy. Namibia could gain up to 2.50 rating points with a 15 point victory over Portugal, depending on other match outcomes.
The USA could rise at least one place with a win against Scotland, potentially more if margins and other results favour them. Spain’s match against Samoa could also affect their ranking, dependent on the victory margin and the USA’s result against Scotland.
Romania could see a ranking rise with a 15-point win over Canada, if Spain also loses.
Additionally, rating points are at stake in matches involving teams outside the top 20, such as Chile versus Belgium and Paraguay versus Hong Kong China, which could lead to minor ranking adjustments.
I for one really want to see Ireland drop to number three in the world after today.
Just so I can see what it looks like for the best team in the world to be ranked third in the world. Unprecedented.
Irish props boring in from the side of scrum. So frequent the refs ping them when they don’t do it. That’s how they will win the world cup.
😂😂😂
“There's only one way Ireland can grab rankings top spot from Boks”
Let me guess: Cheating at rucks? No?
I guess they tried that one last time, and the ref let them away with it. But it was not enough. Maybe taking out some players, like Leinster did to Le Roux and almost achieved with Goosen? That was unpleasant, but did not win the game for Leinster.
I know it is a crazy idea, but what if they just played within the rules and just tried to outplay the Boks. You know, like give up on the cheating thing and just try to play well? It’s nuts, but maybe there is the germ of a good idea in that wacko thought.
Not wacko. The way it should be. If Ireland lose, it's always the ref blowing against them and the other team cheating, always showing things that happens in split seconds that no one see until after with all the replays. The ref is a human and he can't pause, rewind and replay his eyes. If he sends it up, he is wasting time. He doesn't, he favours the other team. An Irish trait. That's why I love the Boks and ABs rivalry. Very hard and honest games. We respect the ABs as much as we do the Boks. It's a rivalry that will stand until the day the sport or humans don't exist anymore. The Irish is trying to claim that spot from the ABs. The Irish won't be ranked 1 at the end of the year. The Boks might not even be 1 at the end of the year. The ABs might be. After this Irish game WHEN the Boks win, NZ will be 2nd in the rankings and they will drop to 3rd
We get a few TMO calls and cancel the Xmas presents to SA in Pretoria the score could have been 31-13.
As the Irish players claimed to the Boks after the group stage game…see you in the WC final? Totally disregarding the ABs? You are very arrogant and give all Irish fans a bad name. Why they allow you to send their names down the crapper is a mystery or they are just as miserable as you are. The Irish is too entitled. They expect everything to be handed to them. They claim victories long before it happens. Didn't even play the quarter final of the WC yet, disregarding the quarters and the semi final (which is a ceiling too high). Disgusting attitude. Grow up man
Nothing is impossible… this is a strong starting Irish team (the forward 8 at least - better so than last week with POM on the bench). But not a great bench… going to be a great test match!!!
Ireland are missing too many New Zealanders in this 23 for it to be called a strong Irish team.
I suspect that Ireland are going to be very good today. But whatever they throw at us - they don’t have a bomb squad. Which will make the difference.
The best that Ireland can hope for is that they take an early points lead in the first half and enough to hold it to the end.
Yeah they have actually a more experienced team this next game. They have a very good team but their entitlement and arrogance is why they couldn't beat the ABs at the WC, why they lost against England and why they lost to the Boks. They have the goods, but not the temperament