The All Blacks have closed the gap on the Springboks at the top of the World Rugby Rankings in the final round of the southern leg of the Nations Championship.
South Africa did not earn any ranking points for their victory over Wales at Kings Park in Durban because of the 17.58-point differential between the teams before kick-off.
Meanwhile, New Zealand earned a maximum 1.24 points bump from their 40-21 victory over Ireland at Eden Park, a win that saw the All Blacks extend their unbeaten run at the venue to 53.
The results mean that New Zealand have moved within 1.68 rating points of South Africa at the summit of the World Rugby rankings, with South Africa set to face off against Argentina on August 8 before the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series.
Meanwhile, Wales have moved up a place in the rankings, overtaking Italy, despite their defeat to the Springboks. Italy surrendered 1.01 rating points in their 57-10 loss to Australia, moving them below the Welsh.
Movement in the Top 10
In Joe Schmidt’s final game in charge of the Wallabies, his charges ran in nine tries to thrash the Azzurri in Perth. A loss of more than 15 points could have resulted in Australia dropping out of the top 10 of the World Rugby rankings, but Schmidt’s side emphatically dodged that unwanted bit of history – earning 1.01 rating points instead.
That was not enough for the Wallabies to improve their ranking position, but it was enough for them to retain their eighth-place ranking until Les Kiss takes over as the new head coach.
Scotland received a 0.69 buffer for their 33-17 win over Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday. That result did not see Fiji drop in the standings, with Pacific Ireland maintaining their stronghold on ninth position. Meanwhile, France did not earn any points for their 42-15 victory over Japan in Tokyo.
In the final game of the weekend, England survived a late scare against Argentina to run out 31-24 winners at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades. The away victory sees them gain a 0.93 points improvement that reduces the gap on France in fourth place and Ireland in third. Argentina missed the chance to climb the standings and consequently now have Australia in their rear-view mirror.
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Current World Rugby Rankings
As of 18/07/2026 (After Argentina v England)
1 South Africa 93.96
2 New Zealand 92.28 (+1.24)
3 Ireland 88.08 (-1.24)
4 France 87.43
5 England 85.68 (+0.93)
6 Scotland 84.78 (+0.69)
7 Argentina 83.13 (-0.93)
8 Australia 81.61 (+1.01)
9 Fiji 78.00 (-0.69)
10 (↑1) Japan 76.42
11 (↑1) Wales 76.38
12 (↓2) Italy 76.30 (-1.01)
