Boks reach number one for first time in a decade

As South Africa’s triumphant players prepare to arrive back home to a heroes’ welcome, they do so in the knowledge that they are not only world champions but also top of the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 16 November 2009.

Saturday’s 32-12 victory over England in the final of Rugby World Cup 2019 saw them awarded 3.48 rating points to put them ahead of New Zealand, who had temporarily moved to the number one spot following their emphatic 40-17 win over Wales in Friday’s third-place decider.

The Springboks’ third Rugby World Cup victory has boosted their score to 94.19 points – 6.85 points more than when their campaign began with the side back in fourth place in the rankings, while New Zealand finished the tournament as they were at the start, in second place, but with an improved score of 92.11 points.

After the best part of two months in Japan, England are also unchanged in third place, despite having briefly climbed to the top of the rankings following their epic semi-final win over the All Blacks, while Wales end the tournament one place higher in fourth.

World Rugby Rankings
(Previous position in brackets)

1(2) South Africa 94.19
2(3) New Zealand 92.11
3(1) England 88.82
4(4) Wales 85.02
5(5) Ireland 84.45
6(6) Australia 81.90
7(7) France 80.88
8(8) Japan 79.28
9(9) Scotland 79.23
10(10) Argentina 78.31