World Rankings much-changed after epic weekend of upsets

On a dramatic weekend of international rugby, France defeated South Africa in Paris for the first time in 21 years, Wales ended a 73-year wait to beat the All Blacks and Samoa put their recent troubles behind them to surprise in-form Portugal in the World Rugby Nations Cup.

All were victories against higher-ranked teams and it comes as no shock that the World Rankings look very different as a result, with half of the teams in the top 20 in a different position now than when the weekend kicked off with the epic win for Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Friday evening.

Both of the top two teams in the world losing within 24 hours of each other doesn’t happen very often, but the Springboks and the All Blacks have managed to stay at the top of the tree despite this anomaly, although the gap between the them has doubled to 0.88 as a result of the All Blacks losing more points after suffering one of the biggest upsets in history. South Africa are now on 91.53 points, while New Zealand are on 90.65.

However, there is a change at the head of the chasing pack, with France occupying third place at the expense of Ireland, who drop to fourth. France picked up 1.56 points for their win over the world champions to increase their score to 89.05, while Ireland’s 43-15 win over Fiji didn’t come with any reward and they remain on 88.70 points.

England remain steady in fifth on 86.99 points and Scotland keep hold of sixth place thanks to their 15-12 win over seventh-place Australia at Murrayfield.

Two rankings points were awarded to Wales for their historic victory against the All Blacks and they move up one place to  ninth, directly behind Argentina in eighth. Tenth place, once the domain of Wales, has been taken by Fiji.

It is outside of the top 10 where things really have been shaken up, with USA now trailing the other World Rugby Nations Cup winner Georgia by just one place after a thumping 53-24 win away to Romania.

The Men’s Eagles will be able to eat into the 5.84-point deficit between the teams next weekend if they can overturn the Lelos on the final weekend of the tournament.

Samoa were the biggest winners, with their eye-catching 36-5 win against Portugal seeing them surge up the rankings by three places to 16th.

On a bad day for the Iberian teams, Spain were the fourth team to lose to lower-ranked opposition after falling to a 25-20 defeat at home to Chile. Spain slip two rankings place to 18th, while Chile have climbed above them to 17th.

Updated World Rankings Top 20*

1. South Africa – 91.53
2. New Zealand – 90.65
3. France – 89.05
4. Ireland – 88.70
5. England – 86.99
6. Scotland – 85.28
7. Australia – 82.24
8. Argentina – 82.09
9. Wales – 79.37
10. Fiji – 77.79
11. Italy – 75.84
12. Japan – 75.25
13. Georgia – 74.23
14. USA – 68.39
15. Portugal – 68.24
16. Samoa – 67.60
17. Chile – 67.00
18. Spain – 66.53
19. Tonga – 65.58
20. Uruguay – 65.17

*Officially updated at 12pm Monday (GMT)