South Africa surrendered the top spot in the World Rugby rankings after suffering a 21-19 defeat against France at the Stade de France in Paris.
New Zealand benefited from the loss by Rassie Erasmus’ side, returning to the summit of the rankings for the second time this year. Dave Rennie’s side originally claimed the top position following a win in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series before dropping back down after losing in Cape Town. South Africa’s second defeat of the year pushed them down to second place ahead of Saturday and Sunday’s Nations Championship action.
France earned a 1.56-point boost following the two-point victory over the Springboks. That result marks France’s first home win against South Africa in Paris since 2005.
Les Bleus moved ahead of Ireland into third position in the standings. Andy Farrell’s men cannot reclaim third place with a victory over Fiji in Dublin due to the rating point difference between the two nations before kick-off.
The Springboks could return to the top of the standings before the end of the weekend if Wales claims a first-ever win over the All Blacks in the professional era. If Steve Tandy’s side secures that victory, New Zealand will drop back to second place. The All Blacks cannot fall lower than second regardless of the margin of defeat.
France led the encounter from the 14th minute after capitalizing on Springboks indiscipline while Lood de Jager served a sin-binning for a high tackle on Maxime Lucu. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang scored a minute into the sin-binning period. Theo Attissogbe added the hosts’ second try eight minutes later.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels put South Africa on the scoreboard by crashing over from the back of a powerful maul. Louis Bielle-Biarrey canceled out that effort with a try on the half-hour mark. Kurt-Lee Arendse appeared to score for the visitors on the stroke of half-time, but officials chalked off the try for an offside infraction at the lineout.
Jasper Wiese received a red card early in the second half, dealing a major setback to Erasmus’ men. Cobus Reinach scored in the 50th minute, and Malcolm Marx added another try in the 71st minute. The Springboks fell short, however, as Manie Libbok failed to convert Marx’s try to tie the scoreline.
The updated World Rugby rankings following the fixture list New Zealand at number one with 92.65 points. South Africa sits in second place with 91.53 points after dropping 1.56 points. France occupies third position with 89.05 points following their 1.56-point gain.
Ireland holds fourth place with 88.70 points. England ranks fifth with 86.99 points, while Scotland stands sixth with 84.40 points. Australia follows in seventh with 83.12 points, Argentina is eighth with 81.62 points, and Fiji sits ninth with 77.79 points. Wales rounds out the top ten with 77.37 points.
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