Cape Town - Ireland reclaimed the mantle as the leading northern hemisphere nation in the World Rugby rankings after a 19-9 victory over England in the battle of the unbeaten sides in the Six Nations in Dublin on Sunday.
According to the World Rugby website, the victory turns what was a 0.17 rating point deficit into a 1.27 cushion for Ireland over Rugby World Cup 2015 hosts England. Joe Schmidt’s side are now less than two rating points behind South Africa in second in the rankings.
Wales have increased their margin over France beneath to almost four points after a 20-13 victory over Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Saturday, although the margin was not enough to improve their position of sixth.