rankings (begun in 2003) are different from another
international Rugby Union ranking scheme - also called "World Rugby
Rankings" - that has existed since 1996 (but which is not affiliated with
"World Rugby"
When the system was introduced England were the top team and maintained that
position following victory in the2003 Rugby World Cup. New Zealand took the lead from 7 June 2004. After
winning the 2007 Rugby World Cupfinal,
South Africa became the third team to achieve first place. The first two
fixtures of the 2008 Tri Nationsresulted
in the top two teams switching places: the All Blacks regained the top spot
after defeating South Africa in the Tri Nations opener on 5 July 2008 in Wellington; a week later the
Springboks returned the favour in
Dunedin, scoring their first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1998,
reclaiming the top spot, only for the All Blacks to defeat both Australia and
South Africa in August 2008 to regain the top spot by a considerable margin.
South Africa regained the lead in July 2009 after beating New Zealand in
Bloemfontein and kept the lead until losing to France in November of that year,
allowing the All Blacks to regain the top spot.
New Zealand have been the most
consistently ranked #1 team since the introduction of IRB World Rankings having
held the #1 ranking for more than 80 percent of the time
during this period. South Africa and England make up the remainder.
Rank
|
Change*
|
Team
|
Points
|
1
|
 |
93.70
|
|
2
|
|
88.23
|
|
3
|
|
85.76
|
|
4
|
|
85.40
|
|
5
|
|
84.07
|
|
6
|
|
82.95
|
|
7
|
|
79.74
|
|
8
|
|
78.23
|
|
9
|
|
75.39
|
|
10
|
|
74.79
|
|
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