The All Blacks closed the gap on the Springboks, who are ranked number one in the world rugby rankings, in the final round of the Southern leg of the Nations Championship.
South Africa earned no ranking points for their win over Wales at King’s Park in Durban due to a 17.58-point head-to-head difference between the teams.
Meanwhile, New Zealand earned their maximum 1.24-point boost with a 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park, a victory that saw the All Blacks extend their unbeaten run at the stadium to 53.
The results mean New Zealand move 1.68 ranking points clear of South Africa at the top of the world rugby rankings and South Africa will face Argentina on August 8 ahead of the first series of rugby’s greatest rivalry.
Wales, meanwhile, moved up a place in the rankings above Italy despite losing to the Springboks. Italy lost 1.01 rating points in their 57–10 loss to Australia, dropping below the Welsh.
Movement into the Top 10
Joe Schmidt’s last game for the Wallabies saw his men score nine tries against the Azzurri in Perth. A loss of more than 15 points could have seen Australia fall out of the top ten in the world rugby rankings, but Schmidt’s side decisively avoided this unwanted episode of history, earning 1.01 ranking points instead.
It wasn’t enough for the Wallabies to improve their rankings, but it was enough to keep them eighth in the rankings until Les Kiss took over as new head coach.
Scotland received a 0.69 buffer for their 33-17 win over Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday. The result did not cause Fiji to fall down the league table, with Pacific Ireland maintaining their place in ninth position. Meanwhile, France did not earn a single point in their 42-15 win 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 the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades. The away win saw them improve by 0.93 points, closing the gap on fourth-placed France and third-placed Ireland. Argentina missed out on a chance to move up the table and, as a result, Australia is now in the rearview mirror.
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Current world rugby rankings
As of 07/18/2026 (after the match Argentina – 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)
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