South Africa (Commonwealth) _ Several changes occurred during a rollercoaster weekend of ups and downs in the Autumn Nations Series and beyond, including South Africa overtaking Ireland at the top of the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.
Southern hemisphere sides dominated the Guinness Men’s Six Nations opponents, and all ten teams in the top ten, with the exception of France, switched places. After a fierce 32–15 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield, South Africa is back at the top of the rankings.
Ireland’s loss to New Zealand in the opening game on Friday meant that the Springboks knew that a draw would have been sufficient to regain first place going into the last game of the Autumn Nations Series this weekend.
Despite facing significant pressure from the Springboks for the first hour, Scotland’s world champions managed to salvage 0.69 rating points. With their new rating of 92.46 points, South Africa is 1.25 points ahead of New Zealand, who have risen from second place, while Ireland has fallen to third.
Argentina is now in fifth place after scoring 50 points against Italy, while France is in fourth place after defeating Japan 52–12 at the Stade de France without receiving any extra points.
Despite losing to South Africa for the eighth time in a row, Scotland has risen one spot to sixth place, while England has dropped two spots after losing to Australia 42-37 in a match that will go down in history at Allianz Stadium.
For the first time since 2016, England falls to seventh place, and the Wallabies are now only one spot below them in eighth. Fiji is up one spot to ninth after defeating Wales in Cardiff for the first time, while Italy dropped two spots to tenth following their 50-18 loss to Los Pumas at home.
With their 10th consecutive loss to Fiji, Wales tied their longest losing streak and dropped to a record-low 11th in the rankings. However, losing a point hasn’t caused them to drop any lower in their ranking.
After defeating Portugal 21–17 in Coimbra, the USA moved up three spots to 16th place, making them one of the greatest winners outside of the top 10. Only one spot above them, in 15th place, is Portugal, who defeated the Eagles to earn a spot in the Rugby World Cup 2023.
With a brilliant 32–24 victory over Uruguay at home, Spain dealt a blow to Europe, moving up one spot to 17th rank while Los Teros fell two spots to 19th. In the meantime, Tonga lost to Romania 25–15 in Bucharest, dropping them two spots to 18th place. Romania’s rating increased by 1.25 points as a result of the victory; however, it was insufficient to move them up to 20th position.
This was also the case for Chile, who lost to Canada 44-14 in the opening game of a double header in Bucharest, leaving them in 21st place. Better news was that Kenya and Uganda switched places after Kenya’s 27-25 win in the first leg of the Men’s Elgon Cup, while Brazil moved up four spots to 26th place after their 23-10 victory away to Hong Kong, China.
Les Bleus did not receive any rating points for their 52–12 victory over Japan, meaning they remain in fourth place, but there has been a move beneath Fabien Galthie’s charges.
Together with Australia’s victory against England, Argentina’s crushing 18–50 thumping of Italy puts them in fifth place. Scotland has risen to sixth place despite their defeat against South Africa, while England has fallen from fifth to seventh.
With Australia replacing the Azzurri and the Flying Fijians moving up to ninth place, Fiji has also risen in the standings, while Italy fell from eighth to tenth. England ranked eighth in February 2016, marking their lowest position in eight years.
World Rugby, the sport’s governing organization, oversees the World Rugby Rankings, a ranking system for rugby union national teams. The ranks for men and women are distinct. World Rugby rates its member nations’ teams based on their game performance, with the most successful teams occupying the top spots.
The most recent World Rugby standings as of October 11, 2024
1. South Africa 92.46
2. New Zealand 91.21
3. Ireland 90.58
4. France 86.96
5. Argentina 85.60
6. Scotland 82.70
7. England 82.62
8. Australia 81.14
9. Fiji 80.07
10. Italy 78.67
11. Wales 75.04
12. Georgia 74.10
13. Samoa 72.68
14. Japan 72.31
15. Portugal 68.82