Cape Town - There may be no positional changes in the latest IRB world rankings, but
South Africa have closed the gap to New Zealand at the top after their
38-12 victory over Australia in Brisbane in Round 3 of the Rugby
Championship, according to the IRB website.
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South Africa’s first win in Brisbane for more than 40 years has seen them cut New Zealand’s cushion from 4.35 rating points to 2.7 ahead of the meeting between the two sides at Eden Park in Auckland this weekend.
New Zealand are also unbeaten in the Rugby Championship but the 28-13 win over 10th-ranked Argentina had no impact on their rating of 91.64, a result of the 15.23 rating points separating the two teams before kick-off in Hamilton.
A third successive defeat in the competition means Australia have seen their advantage over fifth-ranked France reduced to just over two rating points and leaves the Wallabies in danger of slipping another place to equal their lowest position since the rankings were introduced in October 2003.
Top 10 in the latest IRB rankings:
1. New Zealand 91.64
2. South Africa 88.94
3. England 85.76
4. Australia 83.67
5. France 81.59
6. Wales 81.36
7. Samoa 80.42
8. Ireland 79.58
9. Scotland 76.95
10. Argentina 76.41
GALLERY: Wallabies v Springboks
QUIZ: Tackle Sport24's highly addictive, yet almost impossible quiz!
South Africa’s first win in Brisbane for more than 40 years has seen them cut New Zealand’s cushion from 4.35 rating points to 2.7 ahead of the meeting between the two sides at Eden Park in Auckland this weekend.
New Zealand are also unbeaten in the Rugby Championship but the 28-13 win over 10th-ranked Argentina had no impact on their rating of 91.64, a result of the 15.23 rating points separating the two teams before kick-off in Hamilton.
A third successive defeat in the competition means Australia have seen their advantage over fifth-ranked France reduced to just over two rating points and leaves the Wallabies in danger of slipping another place to equal their lowest position since the rankings were introduced in October 2003.
Top 10 in the latest IRB rankings:
1. New Zealand 91.64
2. South Africa 88.94
3. England 85.76
4. Australia 83.67
5. France 81.59
6. Wales 81.36
7. Samoa 80.42
8. Ireland 79.58
9. Scotland 76.95
10. Argentina 76.41