World Rugby has published the ranking permutations for round four of the Rugby Championship, which could see the Springboks drop down if they suffer a heavy defeat.

South Africa will fall two places if they lose to Australia and New Zealand beat Argentina. This can also happen if Los Pumas triumph by more than 15 points and South Africa lose by the same margin.

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However, even if they manage to end the drought against the Wallabies in Australia and claim a rare win, the Springboks will still remain in third place.

As for the clash between the All Blacks and Los Pumas, Argentina will be the higher ranked of the two teams if they secure back-to-back wins over New Zealand, climbing to fifth and condemning the All Blacks to a new low of sixth.

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Los Pumas have not been ranked as high as sixth since June 2016. New Zealand could fall to seventh in defeat, if they lose by more than 15 points and Australia win.

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