The Nations Championship and World Rugby Nations Cup produced another set of dramatic matches over the weekend, leading to several changes to the top 25 of the World Rugby Men's Rankings.
England's first-ever outing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool was marked with a record 73-8 win over Fiji and a one-place rise to fifth in the rankings, with Steve Borthwick's team climbing above their oldest international rivals, Scotland.
Scotland now reside in sixth, having lost one of the two places they had gained for their win over Argentina on the opening weekend of the Nations Championship, after falling to a battling 42-28 defeat to world number one South Africa in Pretoria.
South Africa's advantage over the All Blacks at the top of the rankings increased by 0.02 rating points to 2.92 points as a result of their victory over Scotland. New Zealand and Ireland's ratings remained unchanged after wins over lower-ranked Italy and Japan.
France closed the gap on the top three with a 42-21 win over Australia at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, picking up 0.68 points. Argentina remain in seventh place with an improved rating of 84.06 points after their 35-21 win over Wales.
Outside the top 10, Wales have dropped a place to 12th, with Japan moving up to 11th, while Georgia, USA and Portugal remain 13th to 15th after wins in the Nations Cup. Spain gained four places to 16th after beating Tonga 32-19, with Uruguay, Chile, Samoa and Tonga all losing ground.
Sources
- World Rugby — Men's Rankings: https://www.world.rugby/news/1045589/england-and-scotland-trade-places-in-world-rugby-mens-rankings
