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World Rankings: 9-year high within All Blacks' reach in Cape Town
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New Zealand’s 33-16 win over South Africa in Johannesburg last weekend ended the Springboks’ hopes of beating their best-ever continuous run at the top of the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.
The Boks were just over halfway to matching their record 98-week unbroken reign, set between 2019-21, as they closed in on a whole year at No.1, but the defeat at Ellis Park demoted them to second place going into this weekend’s Cape Town rematch.
The good news for Bok fans is that they have another opportunity to start a new run as the best rugby team on the planet, as a revenge win over the All Blacks in the Rugby Greatest Rivalry series, will restore them to top spot.
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If the Springboks match the size of the All Blacks’ victory last week and win by in excess of 15 points, they will turn the current 1.82-point deficit into a 1.72-point advantage.
Alternatively, a repeat of last week’s result will see New Zealand pull further clear, with as many as 1.23 ranking points available to them for a convincing win.
A win by in excess of 15 points would leave 4.28 points between the teams, with New Zealand on 95.26 rankings points and South Africa second on 90.98.
New Zealand last broke through the 95-point barrier when they beat Australia 54-34 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, on 21 August, 2017.
Meanwhile, Argentina and Australia’s jockeying for supremacy in the rankings continues in Jujuy this weekend.
There are only 1.51 points between Los Pumas in seventh and Australia in eighth, and a fourth straight Test win for the Wallabies for the first time since 2023/24 would wipe that out and result in the teams trading places.
Argentina cannot improve on seventh spot if they beat the Wallabies for the third time in four meetings; the best they can do is close to within 0.22 ranking points of Scotland in sixth.
Current World Rugby Men’s Rankings – Top 10
1 New Zealand – 94.03
2. South Africa – 92.21
3. Ireland – 88.08
4. France – 87.43
5. England – 85.68
6. Scotland – 84.78
7. Argentina – 83.13
8. Australia – 82.67
9. Fiji – 78.00
10. Wales – 76.38
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