World Cup champions South Africa are now the top-ranked team in the World Rugby rankings.
Before the final and the third-place playoff games, England were top, followed by the Springboks, All Blacks and Wales.
But the Boks’ stunning 32-12 win over the more-fancied England in the final, has moved them one place up from second to first. It is the first time since 2009 that South Africa are top of the charts again.
The All Blacks rose from third to second following their 40-17 thumping of Wales in the bronze-medal match. And as a result of their promotion, England dropped from first to third on the elite list.
The rest of the top 10 is unchanged, but Wales were docked 2.19 rating points and are now just 0.57 of a point ahead of the fourth-ranked Ireland.
World Rugby rankings
1. South Africa 94.19
2. New Zealand 92.11
3. England 88.82
4. Wales 85.02
5. Ireland 84.45
6. Australia 81.90
7. France 80.88
8. Japan 79.28
9. Scotland 79.23
10. Argentina 78.31
Full rankings
How the rankings work
Photo: Getty Images
