World Rugby have officially published the new official rankings following the latest round of the Autumn Nations Series.
Wayne Pivac’s men remain in ninth position, following yesterday’s win over Fiji. Had that result gone the other way Wales could’ve found themselves as low as 11th, which would’ve been their lowest ever ranking.
Wales lost their opening two fixtures of the Autumn Series, falling to a 16-54 defeat to New Zealand before a 18-21 loss to world champions South Africa. Wales managed to get their first win of the Autumn with a 38-23 win over Fiji yesterday, albeit being an unconvincing performance.
Elsewhere, South Africa have gained number one status after leapfrogging New Zealand following the Springboks’ victory over Scotland at Murrayfield. The All Blacks would’ve stayed in top spot if they had beaten Ireland on Saturday however, their 29-20 loss in Dublin drops them into second spot.
England have moved up one place into third spot following their 32-15 victory over Australia, which means the Wallabies have dropped from third into fifth.
Ireland’s impressive performance against the All Blacks means they have moved up one spot into fourth.
France remain in sixth, following their second win of the Autumn series against Georgia yesterday. They’ll be looking ahead to a mouth-watering clash against New Zealand next Saturday.
Gregor Townsend’s Scotland side stay in seventh, while Argentina sit one place above Wales in eighth. Japan are currently occupying the final space in the top 10.
Wales can go move up the rankings next week if they finish off the Autumn series with a win over Australia and Argentina lose to Ireland.
World Rugby Rankings
1. South Africa (91.83)
2. New Zealand (90.02)
3. England (86.61)
4. Ireland (86.30)
5. Australia (85.09)
6. France (84.25)
7. Scotland (82.78)
8. Argentina (80.81)
9. Wales (80.39)
10. Japan (78.54)
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