Latest World Rankings: South Africa Return To The Top

South Africa return to the top of the World Rugby Rankings at the expense of New Zealand with top sport changing hands for the fourth time in just two months.

A 15-30 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield sent the Springboks back to the top of the World Rankings in the early kick-off on Saturday meaning that New Zealand knew they had to get a positive result against Ireland in Dublin to stay at number one.

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However, a fired-up Ireland team put New Zealand to the sword to claim a second victory over the All Blacks at the Aviva. The 29-20 victory for Ireland also saw them climb the world rankings into fourth place.

South Africa gained half a rating point for their victory whilst the All Blacks lost 1.34 points as a result of their defeat in Dublin. The Springboks now hold a 1.8-point lead at the top.

Top spot could change hands once again this coming weekend with points on the line in Paris with France hosting New Zealand, and England facing South Africa for the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final.

Eddie Jones' charges head into the clash with the Springboks ranked third on the overall rankings following their 32-15 win over Australia. The Wallabies’ defeat and Ireland’s win puts the Irish up to fourth and the Wallabies down to fifth.

France did not gain any rating points from their 41-15 win over Georgia as they remained in sixth place while Argentina gained half a rating point from their five-try 37-16 win over Italy.

Japan and Wales' rankings remained unchanged despite close calls against the likes of Portugal and Fiji respectively with all the teams involved remaining unchanged on the rankings.

Canada's 24-0 win over Belgium saw them move into 22nd place in the World Rankings and despite the loss Belgium still moved up the rankings ahead of Brazil.

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VIA WORLD RUGBY