The top two ranked teams in the world will collide in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series opener at Ellis Park next Saturday
The Springboks and All Blacks collide in Johannesburg in the first of four Test matches and do so as the first and second-ranked teams in the world, respectively
This comes after the final change to the World Rugby rankings occurred on Saturday afternoon in Townsville, with Australia claiming a 57-17 victory over Japan in Les Kiss’ second game in charge of the Wallabies
The Wallabies earned 0.58 ranking points for the victory over the Brave Blossoms, which was not enough to see them overtake Argentina in seventh position on the rankings, while Japan’s deduction by the same margin wasn’t severe enough to see them drop a place from 12th
It means that the top 20 remains intact ahead of next weekend’s showdown between South Africa and New Zealand, while Australia now head to Argentina, where they will tackle Los Pumas in back-to-back Tests
How the rankings can change
The All Blacks have a healthy record at Ellis Park, and if Dave Rennie’s men do emerge victorious in the series opener against the Springboks at the famous ground, they will return to the summit of the World Rugby rankings for the first time since August 2025
A win of any kind will be enough for New Zealand to reclaim the top spot, while Rassie Erasmus’ men will hang onto their number one ranking with a draw
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Similarly, Australia will become the higher-ranked of the two nations if they defeat Argentina at the Estadio 23 de Agosto. The Wallabies cannot move higher than seventh in victory, with Los Pumas dropping to eighth
As for Argentina, a win by any margin would see them retain seventh place, as a victory by more than 15 points won’t earn them enough ranking points to surpass Scotland in sixth
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Latest World Rugby rankings
1 South Africa 93.96
2 New Zealand 92.28
3 Ireland 88.08
4 France 87.43
5 England 85.68
6 Scotland 84.78
7 Argentina 83.13
8 Australia 82.67 (+0.58)
9 Fiji 78.00
10 Wales 76.38
11 Italy 76.30
12 Japan 75.36 (-0.58)
13 Georgia 73.94
14 USA 70.22
15 Portugal 69.39
16 Chile 66.94
17 Spain 66.83
18 Uruguay 65.75
19 Tonga 65.14
20 Samoa 64.73
Argentina
