Ireland could become the second team to reach the summit of the World Rugby rankings in as many weeks if they beat England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wales currently lead the Test rankings following their victory over England, which allowed Warren Gatland’s side to end New Zealand’s 509-day stay as the number one Test side in the world.
However, a victory for Ireland on Saturday would allow them to overtake Wales. It would also knock New Zealand down to third place, their joint-lowest ranking.
Should England win by more than 15 points on their home ground, they could leapfrog both South Africa and Ireland into third place.
On the same day, Scotland will host France in another World Cup warm-up.
Should Scotland avenge last weekend’s 32-3 thrashing, they would be able to overtake their opponents into seventh place.
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