The impact of Rugby Championship Round Four on world rankings

SPOTLIGHT: The Wallabies’s slide down a slippery slope of mediocrity continues.

At the weekend Australia conceded a record score to Argentina as they threw away a 20-3 lead to lose 27-67 in Sante Fe.

The defeat saw them fall below Italy in the rankings.

Australia are down to ninth in the rafter suffering after their Round Four horror show.

It was the most points the Wallabies have conceded in the history of the game and their second-heaviest defeat of all time, falling just short of the record of 45 points set in 2008 when they were beaten 53-8 by South Africa.

Los Pumas scored nine tries, including seven in the second half where they scored 50 points.

This was after Australia had raced into a 20-3 lead.

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Australia have had 0.92 points knocked off their rating as a result of the loss and their new total of 79.78 points drops them below Italy into ninth place.

Argentina, meanwhile, gained an equal amount of points in exchange which gives them a new improved rating of 82.49 points. Los Pumas are now just a third of a point behind Scotland in sixth.

In the first of the weekend’s Rugby Championship fixtures, South Africa completed the double over New Zealand with an 18-12 victory in Cape Town.

With two rounds of the Rugby Championship to play, the Springboks’ advantage over Ireland at the top of the rankings has increased to 1.46 points, while the All Blacks remain in third but with a reduced rating of 88.25.

The small gains made by Fiji and Japan following their respective victories over Tonga and the United States in the Pacific Nations Cup 2024 did not lead to any movement in their rankings position, with the two pool winners remaining in 10th and 14th.