South Africa are still number one in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, but New Zealand have cut the gap to 0.44 points. The change came after the latest round of the Nations Championship, RugbyPass reported.
The Springboks have 93.09 points, while the All Blacks moved up to 92.65 points. The new rankings were due to be made official by World Rugby at midday on Monday.
Both teams won their matches at the weekend. Rassie Erasmus’s side beat an injury-hit Italy 66-7, but the big win earned them no extra ranking points.
New Zealand gained 0.38 points for their 43-21 win over Scotland. That was enough to bring them closer to the Boks at the top of the table.
The weekend’s Nations Championship games ended with four wins for teams from the North and two for teams from the South, according to RugbyPass.
Ireland stayed in third place on 88.70 points. They picked up 0.63 points after beating Argentina 42-12 at home on Friday evening.
France remained fourth on 87.49 points after a strong win over Fiji. England stayed fifth on 86.99 points, gaining 1.31 points for their win over Australia.
The teams ranked sixth to ninth all lost points. Scotland dropped to 84.40, Australia to 83.12, Argentina to 81.62 and Fiji to 77.79.
Wales made their place in the top 10 safer. They gained 0.99 points for a hard-fought 28-21 home win over Japan and now sit tenth on 77.37 points.
Italy are 11th on 76.30 points, with no change after their loss to South Africa. Japan dropped to 75.25 points in 12th place, while Georgia stayed 13th on 73.94.
The order of the top 10 did not change, but there was movement further down the list among Nations Cup teams.
Spain climbed one place to 16th after an 18-12 win against Uruguay. Tonga moved up two places to 17th after a 43-38 away win over Romania.
Samoa also moved up after beating Zimbabwe 43-7. They are now 19th on 65.31 points, while Zimbabwe are 25th on 58.02 points.
Canada climbed even though they were well beaten by Georgia. Belgium, who are not in the Nations Cup, also moved up. Both teams gained places because Romania fell to an all-time low of 23rd.
Portugal are 14th on 70.52 points and the USA are 15th on 67.80. Chile sit 18th, Uruguay 20th, Canada 21st, Belgium 22nd and Hong Kong China 24th.
The Springboks go into the fifth round of the Nations Championship with their lead over New Zealand down to less than half a point.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Rugbypass.com. Image: Rugbypass.com. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.