Downward GraphIreland are now the 2nd best team in the world according to the World Rugby rankings, with newly-crowned Rugby Championship champions Australia moving up to 3rd.

According to World Rugby, Ireland have moved up to 2nd place in the World Rugby rankings for the 1st time since they were introduced in 2003.

Saturday’s 35 / 21 win over Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff earned them 1.13 ratings points, putting them a fraction ahead of Australia who jumped 2 places to 3rd on the back of their Rugby Champions / Bledisloe Cup triumph against the All Blacks on the weekend.

The Nic White-inspired Wallabies gained 1.61 points to move on to 86.84 points, 0.05 behind the Irish and 1.44 in front of England, the only Top 6 side not in action at the weekend, who remain in 4th spot.

For New Zealand it was their 1st defeat since they lost to South Africa a year ago and a disappointing way to mark Richie McCaw’s record-equalling 141st test appearance. It also saw their lead at the Top of the rankings cut to 5.83 points.

Meanwhile, hat-trick hero Juan Imhoff helped Argentina to an historic 37 / 25 win over South Africa at Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban and they a gain of 2 full rankings points. Los Pumas are now within touching distance of France in 7th place, the gap between the 2 nations now down to 0.57 of a point.

With a drop of 3 places from 2nd to 5th, South Africa were the weekend’s biggest losers from a rankings perspective. 3 Consecutive Rugby Championship defeats have seen their rankings points total reduced to 84.37 points – 1.43 more than 6th-placed Wales.

World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup 2015 champions Fiji are now ranked 9th following Monday’s 39 / 29 title-deciding win against Samoa, while Tonga move up into the top 10 as a result of their victory over Japan in the 3rd-place playoff, with Samoa falling to 11th.

Any gains Japan enjoyed this time last year, when a record 10-game winning streak briefly moved them into the Top 10, have largely been undone over the course of the last 12 months, as the Brave Blossoms now find themselves in 15th place in the rankings.

Japan are now just over 2 rankings points ahead of RWC 2015 Pool B opponents USA, whose 2nd straight win over North American rivals Canada in Monday’s 5th-place shootout earned them 1.06 points.

Canada remain in 18th with a 2.44 points cushion over Uruguay with Namibia making up the last member of the Top 20, after overhauling Spain thanks to Saturday’s 46 / 13 Africa Cup Division 1A victory against Kenya.

Darryl de La Harpe crossed for 2 of Namibia’s tries with their other 5-pointers coming via Chrysander Botha, David Philander, Renaldo Bothma and a penalty try.

“We have 3 wins on the trot now and that is very important for our confidence leading up to the Rugby World Cup. We are working very hard, finding our feet and I am happy with our progress,” said Welwitschias skipper Jacques Burger.

 

Top 10 in the World Rugby rankings:

  1. New Zealand – 92.72
  2. Ireland – 86.89
  3. Australia – 86.84
  4. England – 85.40
  5. South Africa – 84.37
  6. Wales – 82.94
  7. France – 79.74
  8. Argentina – 79.17
  9. Fiji – 77.04
  10. Tonga – 75.25

32 Responses to World Rugby: Springboks free-fall from 2nd to 5th on the World Rankings

  • 3

    Ek wonder of hulle gaan strike as hulle nie gekies word nie?

    Of diskriminasie gaan pleit as hulle wel gekies word en nogsteeds verloor?

  • 4

    2 & 3 @ Victoriabok:
    Weet jy, ek issie eers lus om daai flippen Artikels op Rugby-Talk te sit nie… sal seker maar moet, want dis “Rugby News”!

  • 5

    Victoriabok wrote:

    Ek wonder of hulle gaan strike as hulle nie gekies word nie?

    Of diskriminasie gaan pleit as hulle wel gekies word en nogsteeds verloor?

    Nee, strond man, dit sal alles Jan se skuld wees.

    Weary

  • 6

    @ grootblousmile:
    Ja wat fokkit, los dit!
    Daai baster-Duitser Ehrenreich moet eerder gaan strike in die Baai, waar hy oorspronklik vandaan kom, teen die min swart spelers in die Kings se span.Soos die Namakwalanders sou se, “daai man is werfetter”!
    Die Leeus het Saterdag op n kol meer POC’s in hul span gehad as die sogenaamde ‘ our first black franchise’-span, het ek opgemerk!En geen haan kraai daarna nie.
    Predikante en onderwysers moet eerder wegbly uit SA politiek, hulle was nog deur ons hele geskiedenis alewig n ergenis daar…van DF Malan se dae af.

  • 8

    @ BrumbiesBoy:
    Oii! Hoessit Seeperdjie!
    Wonder wat sal jou dorpsgenoot Skoppie se van hierdie Ehrenreich se “grandstanding”? Hy, Tony, was mos een van die agitators destyds toe Butane Komphela die Bokke se paspoorte wou terugtrek in 2007, en ou Skopskiet het byna sy ou Nissan 1400 se bande brandgesteek in protes! Overjoy

  • 9

    @ Victoriabok:
    Daai ou maak afleidings oor wie dit was.
    Ek ook Wink ….kyk Suid, en jy sal nie ver verkeerd wees nie….

  • 10

    Pietman wrote:

    @ BrumbiesBoy:
    Oii! Hoessit Seeperdjie!
    Wonder wat sal jou dorpsgenoot Skoppie se van hierdie Ehrenreich se “grandstanding”? Hy, Tony, was mos een van die agitators destyds toe Butane Komphela die Bokke se paspoorte wou terugtrek in 2007, en ou Skopskiet het byna sy ou Nissan 1400 se bande brandgesteek in protes!

    Overjoy

  • 11

    Pietman wrote:

    @ Victoriabok:
    Daai ou maak afleidings oor wie dit was.
    Ek ook ….kyk Suid, en jy sal nie ver verkeerd wees nie….

    Snaaks dat die Fokker nou skielik speel?

    We de piephol demand?

    http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Springboks/Kolisi-in-frame-for-first-start-20150811

  • 12

    Die grootste verrasing vir my van die hele storie is dit Lambie swart is, sou dit nooit kon raai nie.

  • 13

    @ MacroPolo:
    Blykbaar 2 wit spelers ook wat by Cosatu gaan aanklop het vir hulp, volgens News24….

  • 14

    13 @ Pietman:
    Luke is seker een, wie is die ander een?

    Thinking

  • 15

    @ BrumbiesBoy:
    Nee, Luke is slegs ‘honorary black’, hy sal nie ‘pass’ nie, vrees ek Conceited

  • 16

    if I ever stumbled over Ehrenreicht (couldn’t be bothered to check the spelling of his putrid name) I’d be tempted to take the SOB and secure him to the infamous pipe off Sea Point, with sustenance to keep him alive for at least a week, to properly sample the fruits of his kind. I don’t generally hate people but I detest this excuse for a human being. He is a royal piece of opportunist, racist shyte who has this misguided ambition to become our city mayor. Were he to ever succeed I’d find living in a sewer more palatable.

  • 17

    Even fikile is defending the selections

  • 18

    @ MacroPolo:
    What selections, Heyneke’s or Cosatu’s?

  • 19

    the Springboks

  • 20

    @ Tassies:
    Delighted Please drag his Gatgabba from Vredendal Primary along, Marius Fransman.
    What was the name of that politician in the Cape, who declared Luke ‘black’, ambassador in US these days? Front ranker from the same club near Woodstock that Eddie Andrews played for?

  • 21

    @ Pietman:
    Ebrahim Rasool.

  • 22

    OK all, I’m out, when I go to Zzzzzz tonight I’m going to dream again about Stephen holding up The Rugby Championship trophy…

    Pleasure

  • 23

    @ BrumbiesBoy:
    Tjeers ou Pedjie…ek gaan ook kiep, vroeg wikkel weer more, sien jou.

  • 24

    nee donner, nou span groot omtrent sy foto onnodig orals

  • 25

    24 @ MacroPolo:
    Watse Foto?

    Waar?

    Ek het niks verander nie!

  • 26

    @ grootblousmile:
    Jou foto bo op die blad het langs elke artikel wat jy gepos het gelaai, dis nou weg.

  • 27

    Springbok team:

    15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Trevor Nyakane

    Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20, Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Jan Serfontein

    I am not too upset about this team… Alberts is back, Strauss is getting a much needed start, Jesse and DDA combo is resumed, I have always like Zane, Lambie gets a start, drawbacks is that Lood misses out, though he is probably the one player without anything to prove in this game, hopefully Malherbe can redeem himself, but i suspect scrum penalty after scrum penalty against us, we might not get quality ball from scrums at all in this game which is a big worry.

  • 28

    @ MacroPolo:
    Great! I was wondering when Zane would be back, good move! He is the man for the UK, not Willie.

  • 29

    The last time I posted here, the Springboks were ranked 2nd.

    Now they are ranked 5th?

  • 30

    AUGUST 2015 (In no particular order!0

    1. The Proteas cricket team lose to the mighty Bangladesh.
    2. The Springboks lose to Los Pumas.
    3. The Proteas netball team lose to the mighty Malawi.
    4. The ZAR falls to > 20 to the British pound.
    5. Our National Assembly becomes a 3 ring circus (again).
    6. Our country’s leader assures us that everything is ok. (Again)

    Which of the above are NOT true?

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