Ireland Close In On Wales In World Rankings

Wales’ first loss in the RBS Six Nations under Warren Gatland against France on Friday night not only ended their back-to-back Grand Slam hopes but also saw them fall one place to fifth in the latest IRB World Rankings with Argentina the beneficiaries.

The 21-16 defeat at the Stade de France means that Wales now sit just under a tenth of a rating point below Argentina, with Ireland only three-tenths behind in sixth following their 14-13 victory over England in Dublin.

Ireland’s third Championship triumph means they are the only side still harbouring dreams of completing the Grand Slam, which would be their first since 1948, and also results in England sliding another place in the rankings to eighth, swapping places with the victorious French.

Even with the fall to eighth, England still have a cushion of three-and-a-half points over Scotland, who remain ninth following their first win in the 2009 competition – 26-6 against Italy at Murrayfield – albeit a little further away from Fiji in 10th.

Italy’s loss, though, has resulted in a one place fall to 12th with Nick Mallett’s side swapping places with Samoa to now trail the Pacific Oslanders by a mere hundredth following three defeats from three in the Championship.

IRB WORLD RANKINGS (As of Monday, March 2):

1(1) NEW ZEALAND 92.68 rating points 
2(2) SOUTH AFRICA 89.45
3(3) AUSTRALIA 85.86
4(5) ARGENTINA 81.56
5(4) WALES 81.47
6(6) IRELAND 81.18
7(8) FRANCE 80.14
8(7) ENGLAND 79.68
9(9) SCOTLAND 76.19
10(10) FIJI 75.24
11(12) SAMOA 72.57
12(11) ITALY 72.56
13(13) TONGA 70.05
14(15) GEORGIA 69.23
15(14) CANADA 69.12
16(17) JAPAN 68.05
17(18) RUSSIA 66.91
18(16) ROMANIA 66.58
19(19) USA 63.55
20(20) URUGUAY 62.78

* Last week’s positions in brackets