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England break southern grip

Cape Town - Australia have paid the price for their 47-29 loss to New Zealand in their Rugby Championship 2013 opener in Sydney by falling one place in the latest IRB world rankings, allowing England to break the southern hemisphere dominance of the top three.

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According to the IRB website, the Wallabies could have climbed to second had they beaten New Zealand at ANZ Stadium, but the margin of defeat in Ewen McKenzie’s first game in charge sees them fall below England by just over three tenths of a rating point.

With South Africa unable to improve their rating despite overwhelming Argentina 73-13 in Soweto, New Zealand’s cushion at the top - a position they have occupied since November 16, 2009 - has grown to 4.52 rating points.

South Africa went into the match at FNB Stadium sitting eight places and 10.36 rating points above Los Pumas, which meant that regardless of the margin of victory it would not have any impact on their rating in second place.

Latest IRB Top 10 rankings:

1. New Zealand 91.55
2. South Africa 87.03
3. England 85.76
4. Australia 85.41
5. France 81.59
6. Wales 81.36
7. Samoa 80.42
8. Ireland 79.58
9. Scotland 76.95
10. Argentina 76.67

Click HERE for the full rankings
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