World Rankings: France still chasing top three nations
SPOTLIGHT: The dust has settled, and France retained their Six Nations title, but they still have work to do in order to reach the top three places in the World Rugby rankings.
The victory over England earned France 0.43 points, with the Roses losing the same amount.
France increased their points from 87.03 to 87.46, closing the gap on third-ranked Ireland, which holds 1.61 ranking points ahead of Fabien Galthie’s charges.
Ireland gained 0.18 points for their win over Scotland, with Gregor Townsend’s side losing the same amount of points.
The Springboks are safe at the top on 93.94 points, followed by New Zealand (90.33), who leads Ireland by 1.26 points.
Despite all these point changes, the top 10 remains unchanged.
However, Wales’ first Six Nations win in three years over Italy earned them 1.45 points, elevating them to 11th place at the expense of Japan, who dropped to 12th.
Georgia’s shock 17-19 loss to Portugal in the Rugby Europe Championship decider cost them 1.54 points, but their 13th-place ranking remains intact; however, they now trail Eddie Jones’ Japan by 2.15 points.
Updated World Rankings:
1 South Africa 93.94
2 New Zealand 90.33
3 Ireland 89.07 (+0.18)
4 France 87.46 (+0.43)
5 Argentina 84.97
6 England 83.91 (-0.43)
7 Scotland 82.90 (-0.18)
8 Australia 81.53
9 Fiji 81.14
10 Italy 79.64 (-1.45)
11 Wales 75.07 (+1.45) (↑1)
12 Japan 74.09 (↓1)
13 Georgia 71.94 (-1.54)
