Updated World Rugby rankings: Ireland and France move clear of All Blacks and Springboks

Ireland and France have cemented their positions in the top two spots of the World Rugby rankings following excellent wins in the Six Nations this past weekend.

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Ireland and France are undoubtedly the two best teams in the world at the moment and they proved that once again when they beat Scotland and England in round four of the Six Nations.

Ireland’s hard-fought 22-7 win over Scotland not only kept their Grand Slam hopes alive, it also earned them a 0.49 of a rating increase to take their rankings tally to 91.82 at the summit.

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France absolutely thrashed England by a record 53-10 at Twickenham. The result earned by a full ranking point, to take their overall rating 90.47 points.

While it’s wasn’t enough to dethrone Ireland as the best-ranked Test team, it did narrow the rankings point differential between the sides to just to 1.35.

That means Ireland and France are now even further ahead of the third-placed All Blacks and fourth-ranked Springboks in the rankings.

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Meanwhile, Wales have moved up one place to ninth in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings following their 29-17 win against Italy in Rome.

Warren Gatland’s side had faced the prospect of dropping out of the world’s top 10 altogether in defeat, but they came home with all five points to avoid a first Six Nations whitewash since 2003.

With 1.20 points gained for the win, Wales’ rating has increased to 78.08, which is 0.69 of a point more than the Brave Blossoms.

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World Rugby rankings (Top 10)

1. Ireland 91.82
2. France 90.47
3. New Zealand 88.98
4. South Africa 88.97
5. Scotland 82.77
6. England 82.12
7. Australia 81.80
8. Argentina 80.72
9. Wales 78.08
10. Japan 77.39

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Ireland and France are vying for the No.1 Test ranking