Wales have officially usurped New Zealand as the No 1-ranked team in the world, while the Springboks climbed to fourth.
Despite gaining 0.35 of a rating point following their 36-0 Bledisloe Cup victory over the Wallabies, the All Blacks still relinquished their place at the summit of the rankings for the first time in a decade, having occupied the position since 2009.
Australia’s humiliating defeat cost them 0.35 of a point, but they still remain in sixth spot in the rankings.
Having slumped to defeat by England at Twickenham last week, Wales turned the tables on their arch-rivals with a 13-6 victory over Eddie Jones’ men at the Millennium Stadium this week. The result earned them a 0.54 of a point increase, enough to see them move past the All Blacks by 0.03 of a point.
England were docked 0.54 and that benefited the Springboks, who rose above them to fourth on the list. South Africa and the 11th-ranked Argentina didn’t gain or lose any points following their warm-up match at Loftus, though.
France’s commanding 32-3 win against a hapless Scotland gained them 1.16 points, enough to displace their victims in seventh spot in the rankings. Scotland are now eighth.
World Rugby rankings:
1. Wales 89.43
2. New Zealand 89.40
3. Ireland 88.69
4. South Africa 86.83
5. England 86.79
6. Australia 84.05
7. France 80.58
8. Scotland 79.01
9. Japan 77.21
10. Fiji 76.98
Full rankings
How the rankings work
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
