Springboks Hold Firm as All Blacks Stumble in Recent Rugby World Rankings
By Priscilla Jepchumba
A try right at the dying embers from replacement Grant Williams marked the best platform for South Africa as they narrowly outclassed New Zealand with a 31-27 scoreline in Johannesburg and kept on being the number one ranked side in World Rugby.
Scott Robertson’s men scored 17-27 in the final quarter, and if they had sustained the lead-up to the final siren, they could quickly have relegated the Springboks to second place.
Unfortunately, it was not to be, and Rassie Erasmus’s side’s win means that they have an unassailable lead of 1 point over Ireland at the top now at 1.25 rating points.
As for New Zealand, it did not cause the position shift as they are still at 1.49 Friday saw them take a comfortable 49 advantage over fourth-placed France.
At the same time, Australia achieved its first victory in the Rugby Championship 2017 by defeating Argentina 19-20 in overtime thanks to a dramatic Ben Donaldson penalty. That result saw Australia change places with Italy in the ranking, with the Wallabies taking the eighth position.
Although both Samoa and the USA emerged victorious in the Pacific Nations Cup, their respective performances did not significantly advance their rankings.
On Friday, Manu Samoa defeated Tonga 43-17. Despite the impressive victory, they only earned 0.25 rating points, which was insufficient to surpass 12th-ranked Georgia. Nevertheless, this result is significant because it narrowed the rating point gap between the two nations to just 0.56.
The United States national rugby team lost only 3 ranking points in their attempt to surpass Spain in the rankings after their victory over Canada in Carson, California.
The Eagles gained 0.24 ranking points for their 28-15 win, but they needed to score 16 or more points to secure the 19th position in the league rankings.
Canada's recent defeat will cause it to drop to 22nd place in the official rankings, below Chile.
JUDY ROTICH