World Rankings: The latest standings after the completion of the Six Nations and Georgia winning the Rugby Europe Championship
The latest World Rugby rankings have been announced following the conclusion of the Six Nations and Rugby Europe Championship (REC) after Ireland and Georgia claimed the titles.
Ireland emerged Six Nations Grand Slam winners on Super Saturday, defeating England before Georgia secured their sixth successive Rugby Europe Championship title on Sunday.
Six Nations Super Saturday
Ireland’s 29-16 victory over England in the final round of the Six Nations cemented their place on top of the world rankings.
The win had no impact on their 91.82 rating, but it did mean that Andy Farrell’s side became the first team to start and end a Six Nations campaign as the top-ranked team in the world.
Meanwhile, France claimed second place, losing just one game throughout the tournament – to Ireland in Round Two. Fabien Galthie’s charges kept the pressure on Ireland by defeating Wales 41-28 in the penultimate match of the Championship.
However, it was not to be for the defending champions as Ireland snatched the title away from them with their victory a few hours later. France remained in the same position that they started the tournament, second place, and did not earn any rating points for their victory.
The opening game of Super Saturday gave Italy the opportunity to move into the Top 10 of the world rankings. The Azzurri came close and were within touching distance of a victory before a knock-on resulted in a scrum for Scotland 5m from their own try line. The Scots attacked from deep, and Blair Kinghorn ultimately finished off a stunning long-range try, securing a 26-14 win.
The result at Murrayfield also had no impact on the rankings, with neither side losing or gaining any rating points.
That means that there is no change to the top 10 between Round Four and Five.
Georgia equals all-time high
There were changes to the rankings lower down as Georgia equalled their all-time record high.
The Lelos closed the gap on 10th-placed Japan to just 1.16 points as they moved ahead of Samoa from 12th to 11th place.
This came after a 38-11 victory over Portugal in the final of the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship.
The Georgians are now unbeaten in 29 REC matches and have won six Championships in succession.
It is the first time since September 2019 that Georgia have been ranked 11th, with the Lelos now targeting a new record high of 10th.
Meanwhile, Portugal retains 16th place, with Uruguay hot on their heels in 17th.
In the Bronze medal final, Romania claimed a 31-25 win over Spain thanks to two late penalties from Vladut Popa.
The result sees the two sides trade ranking positions with Romania now the higher side in 19th.
Over in Amsterdam, the Netherlands claimed their highest-ever finish in the REC of fifth place after defeating Germany 50-28. The Dutch rose to 26th in the rankings thanks to the win, with Brazil falling one.
Germany fell two spots to 32 in the rankings. Finally, Mike Ford claimed his first win as Belgium’s coach, defeating Poland 18-17.
The impact the Six Nations had on the rankings
While Ireland and France’s Six Nations campaigns had no impact on their rankings, that was not the case for all the teams.
Scotland moved up two places during the tournament, starting the year in seventh and moving up to fifth.
The Scots’ move up the rankings saw England lose ground on the top four and slip into sixth.
Australia also fell down one spot due to Scotland’s success as they replaced Townsend’s side in seventh.
Despite suffering four defeats in their five matches, Wales held onto ninth place in the rankings, losing just 0.01 rating point in total.
Finally, Italy fell two places in the ratings, starting the tournament in 12th place before falling to 14th, with Fiji (13th) and Georgia (11) benefiting.
Latest Top 20 World Rugby rankings (as of 20/03/2023)
1. Ireland 91.82
2. France 90.47
3. New Zealand 88.98
4. South Africa 88.97
5. Scotland 82.77
6. England 82.12
7. Australia 81.80
8. Argentina 80.72
9. Wales 78.08
10. Japan 77.39
11. Georgia 76.23
12. Samoa 76.03
13. Fiji 74.84
14. Italy 74.63
15. Tonga 71.21
16. Portugal 67.62
17. Uruguay 66.24
18. USA 65.92
19. Romania 65.85
20. Spain 64.05
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