England defeat sees Boks slip in rankings

Cape Town - The Springboks have slipped one spot to sixth in the official World Rugby rankings after losing to England at Newlands on Saturday.

READ: No Test rugby for Cape Town Stadium in 2019

England's 25-10 win in the final match of their three-Test series was enough to see them jump two spots to No 4 in the rankings.

Australia, who lost 20-16 to Ireland in Sydney, also moved down a spot to fifth, while the Irish in turn closed the gap to leaders New Zealand, despite the All Blacks' dominant 49-14 win over France in Dunedin.

Argentina, woeful in losing 44-15 to Scotland, cling to their 10th spot, marginally ahead of minnows Japan.

With Tests now over for the June window, the next matches to affect the rankings will take place during the Rugby Championship starting on Saturday, August 18.

Top 20 in the current World Rugby rankings:

1. New Zealand 93.99
2. Ireland 90.12
3. Wales 85.94
4. England 85.68
5. Australia 84.48
6. South Africa 83.32
7. Scotland 83.02
8. France 79.10
9. Fiji 76.54
10. Argentina 75.55
11. Japan 75.24
12. Tonga 73.84
13. Georgia 73.13
14. Italy 72.56
15. USA 71.66
16. Romania 68.25
17. Samoa 68.24
18. Uruguay 65.37
19. Russia 64.89
20. Spain 63.09