The U.S. Eagles have returned to No. 16 in the World Rugby rankings in the wake of their 59-50 aggregate win over Canada in Rugby World Cup qualifying play.

The Canadian men remained at No. 21.

Canada had moved up one place from No. 22 following its 34-21 victory over the U.S. in the first leg of the two-game playoff Sept. 4 in St. John's, N.L. The Americans dropped one spot to No. 17, overtaken by Uruguay.

The Eagles reclaimed the No. 16 spot after their 38-16 victory over Canada on Saturday in Glendale, Colo., with Uruguay falling to No. 17.

World champion South Africa was unchanged at No. 1 in the new rankings, followed by New Zealand, England and Ireland.

Australia, thanks to its weekend 28-26 win over South Africa, moved up two places to No. 5 with France and Argentina dropping one place each to No. 6 and 7, respectively. Scotland, Wales and Japan fill out the top 10.

The U.S. faces Uruguay on Oct. 2 and 9 with the winner slotting into Pool A at France 2023 alongside New Zealand, France, No. 14 Italy and Africa 1.

Canada moves on to face No. 28 Chile, with the winner advancing to play the loser of the Uruguay-America series to see who qualifies as Americas 2 in Pool D with England, Argentina, Japan and No. 13 Samoa.

The loser of the Americas 2 playoff still has a chance to make the World Cup, via a repechage tournament.

The Canadians will host Chile in Langford, B.C., on Oct. 2 before flying to Chile for the Oct. 9 rematch.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2021.

The Canadian Press