England have been demoted to fourth place, while France rose to third in the World Rugby rankings following this past weekend’s Six Nations results.
The Springboks and All Blacks are still comfortably the top-two ranked sides in the world, despite South Africa not playing a single Test since the World Cup final in 2019.
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Below them, though, there is a lot of movement, particularly among the Six Nations teams.
In the wake of their 40-24 loss to Wales, England have slipped to fourth in the rankings. France’s game against Scotland was rescheduled, but they moved up to third position by default.
Wales’ win has elevated them three spots higher, from eighth to fifth on the list.
Australia remain in sixth position, with Ireland dropping from fifth to seventh place and Scotland falling to the No 8 spot.
The rest of the top 10 remain unchanged, with Argentina and Japan rounding off the list.
World Rugby rankings (Top 10):
1. South Africa (94.20 points)
2. New Zealand (88.95)
3. France (86,42)
4. England (85.63)
5. Wales (83.97)
6. Australia (83.08)
7. Ireland (82.55)
8. Scotland (81.29)
9. Argentina (80.31)
10. Japan (79.29)
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images