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World Rankings: What the Springboks need to do to become No.1
By Jon Newcombe
New Zealand’s two-week reign at the top of the World Rugby Men’s Rankings will be over if they fail to beat South Africa at Eden Park this Saturday.
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The All Blacks‘ unbeaten run at the Auckland venue stretches to 50 Tests, the last 10 of them wins.
France were the last team to beat them at Eden Park in 1994, while the last time New Zealand failed to win there was the 15-15 draw with the British and Irish Lions in 2017.
New Zealand need to extend that winning run if they are to avoid being replaced as the world’s number one by South Africa, who occupied the position until losing to Australia in the opening round of The Rugby Championship last month.
A draw would be good enough for the Springboks to reach the top, as an Eden Park stalemate would nudge them ahead of the All Blacks by a mere three-hundredths of a decimal point.
South Africa haven’t played at the iconic stadium since 2013, and the last of their two wins there came in 1937, although they did draw with the All Blacks in 1994.
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If they were to end their 88-year wait for an Eden Park victory, the Springboks could open up a 2.23-point gap at the top, depending on the margin of victory, as a win by more than 15 points would see their rating increase to 92.06 points.
A defeat for New Zealand would result in them dropping to third, regardless of the scoreline, with Ireland the side to profit without having to set foot on the pitch.
In the other Rugby Championship match, which kicks off in Townsville, Australia, a few hours earlier, Argentina head to Queensland in the knowledge that a win over the Wallabies would see them become the higher-ranked of the two teams. Los Pumas would move up to sixth with their hosts dropping to seventh.
Australia can’t pick up enough points for a win to catch England, the side immediately above them.
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Three other matches count towards the rankings this weekend – the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup matches between Samoa and Fiji and the USA and Japan, and the second leg of the RWC 2027 South American qualifier, which sees Uruguay up against Chile in Montevideo.
Uruguay take a 12-point lead into the match after winning the first leg in Santiago, 28-16. The winner on aggregate will confirm their place at the Men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Favourites Fiji, Japan and Uruguay can’t improve their ranking in victory this weekend.
World Rankings Top 10
1. New Zealand 90.72
2. South Africa 90.01
3. Ireland 89.83
4. France 87.82
5. England 87.64
6. Australia 84.85
7. Argentina 83.40
8. Scotland 81.57
9. Fiji 80.50
10. Italy 77.77
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