World Rugby Rankings show how far Wales have fallen

Wales need to beat England by a record margin at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, to stand any chance of forcing their way back into the world’s top 10-ranked nations.

Steve Tandy’s men head into the 2026 Guinness Men’s Nations in a lowly 11th, with 4.75 points to make up on Italy, who occupy the last of the top 10 places.

A win by 16 points or more – something they have never achieved at Twickenham (a 12-point win in 1976 is their current best) – would see them pick up three full ratings points. But even then, it might not be enough for them to reclaim their place in the top 10.

The outcome of the England-Wales match will be immaterial, unless Scotland have won by a simlarly big margin in the first of the two Satuday kick-offs against Italy in Rome. In that instance, Wales would replace Italy in 10th, with the Azzurri dropping to 11th.

Having been on top of the world, albeit very briefly on the eve of Rugby World Cup 2019, Wales slipped to a record low of 14th when they were beaten in the first summer Tests against Japan last year.

Things haven’t got much better since then, but a win in the return match, which ended their Test record 18-game losing streak, and a further narrow victory over the Brave Blossoms in November, has seen them edge back towards the top 10.

But unless they spring a surprise and pull off a win between rounds one to four, it’s more than likely that they’ll have to wait until the final weekend encounter with Italy to get a chance of joining the world’s elite again.

At the top of the rankings, South Africa and New Zealand cannot be toppled from the first two positions, as England won’t receive any points for what is perceived to be a home banker.

While a record win for Wales probably won’t affect their position, it could lead to England dropping to fifth, if France beat Ireland by a small margin in Thursday night’s Six Nations curtain-raiser in Paris.

Ireland could also end the weekend in third at England’s expense, as long as they turn over the French and Wales do them a favour in the final game of the weekend.

Before England vs Wales, Italy host Scotland. A home win would result in the teams swapping places in the rankings, with the Azzurri moving up to ninth.

A regulation win for Scotland will see them replace Fiji in eighth place, while seventh is theirs for the taking – at the expense of Australia – if the margin is more than 15 points.

All four Rugby Europe Men’s Championship matches also count towards the rankings, with the match between Belgium, ranked 21st, and Portugal, ranked 20th, looking the toughest one to call.

Perennial champions Georgia travel to Switzerland, who they thrashed 110-0 in last year’s competition, runners-up Spain are the visitors to Amsterdam for new Netherlands head coach Bryan Easson’s first match in charge, while Germany host Romania in Heidelberg, after the match was moved from Kassel due to a frozen pitch.

World Rugby Men’s Rankings

1. South Africa 93.94
2. New Zealand 90.33
3. England 89.41
4. Ireland 87.97
5. France 87.24
6. Argentina 84.97
7. Australia 81.53
8. Fiji 81.14
9. Scotland 80.22
10. Italy 78.98
11. Wales 74.23
12. Japan 74.09