Rankings update: All Blacks to overtake Springboks and Ireland?

The Springboks could drop to third in the World Rugby rankings if they lose one of their three Tests in November.

The most recent World Rugby rankings permutations for the November Tests have been computed, and the All Blacks could conceivably be ahead of South Africa and Ireland.

Following a surprising one-point loss to Los Pumas in Argentina, the Springboks relinquished the top spot to Ireland (promoted by default), after a 13-month reign.

So, at the end of this season’s Rugby Championship competition, Ireland lead the rankings with 92.12 rating points, followed by South Africa on 91.77 and New Zealand on 88.70.

France (86.96) and Ireland (85.40) round out the top five Test teams.

However, with the southern hemisphere teams’ end-of-year travels to Europe looming, the rankings are expected to change dramatically before the end of this year’s Test matches.

TEST RUGBY FIXTURES AND RANKINGS IMPACT

Springboks

The Springboks have three difficult Tests scheduled for the end-of-year tour.

Scotland will play first on November 10 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, followed by a week later on November 17 at Twickenham in London against the old nemesis England.

The South Africans will next conclude their international season and attempt to finish first in the rankings with a match against Wales on Saturday, November 23, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Ireland

The Irish have four Tests scheduled for November, all at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

On November 8, Ireland will host the All Blacks in a clash of giants and a rematch of last year’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. The outcome of this game will have a significant impact on how the rankings shape up.

They will then face the ever-improving Argentina on Friday, November 13, followed by tests against Fiji (November 23) and Australia (30 November).

All Blacks

The All Blacks have the busiest November schedule of the three nations competing for the top spot in the rankings.

Their schedule includes five away Tests, the first of which will be against Japan on October 26 in Yokohama.

As November approaches, they will face England at Twickenham on November 3rd, Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on November 8th, France in Paris on November 17th, and Italy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin to finish the season.

How the rankings might change

If the Springboks complete a perfect tour with three wins from as many Tests, and Ireland makes it four from four, Rassie Erasmus’ world champions will return to the top of the rankings table.
If Ireland loses at least one game and the All Blacks and Springboks remain unbeaten, the Irish will drop to third position, while the two southern hemisphere Test teams will both move up one spot (South Africa to first and New Zealand to second).
If both the Springboks and Ireland lose at least one match and the All Blacks win all of their Tests, New Zealand will move up two places to No. 1, South Africa will remain at No. 3, and Ireland would be demoted to No. 3.