Ireland, Springboks climb in rankings

London - Ireland have replaced England at No 2 on the official World Rugby rankings.

This follows their 28-8 win over Scotland in Dublin at the weekend and England’s 22-16 loss to France in Paris.

It is the first time since August 2015 that the Irish have occupied the No 2 spot on the rankings.

The two results combined saw Ireland not only claim the Six Nations title with a round to spare, but also brought about a swing of 2.52 rating points in their favour.

Ireland are now on 87.85 points - over six behind the world’s No 1 team New Zealand - and 0.35 in front of England, who they face at Twickenham this Saturday as they go in pursuit of only their third Grand Slam.

Scotland’s defeat to Ireland saw them drop to No 6 below South Africa in the rankings, while France are up two places to No 8 as their victory over ill-disciplined England saw them gain 1.89 points, which was enough for them to leapfrog Argentina and Fiji.

Top 20 in latest World Rugby standings:

1. New Zealand 93.99
2. Ireland 87.85
3. England 87.50
4. Australia 85.49
5. South Africa 83.81
6. Scotland 83.80
7. Wales 83.07
8. France 79.44
9. Argentina 78.22
10. Fiji 77.93
11. Japan 75.66
12. Georgia 73.80
13. Tonga 71.87
14. Italy 71.13
15. USA 69.23
16. Samoa 69.03
17. Romania 68.41
18. Uruguay 65.37
19. Spain 64.59
20. Russia 62.38

FULL RANKINGS LIST