Johannesburg – The Springboks maintained their third spot in the World Rugby rankings released on Monday.
South Africa went down 20-18 to New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup semi-final on Saturday, but the loss did not affect their position in the rankings.
The southern hemisphere nations consolidated their positions as the top four in world rugby after a weekend of battle that resulted in the top two, New Zealand and Australia, moving through to this Saturday’s final.
Argentina, also held onto their ranking following their 29-15 defeat to Australia in Sunday’s semi-final.
The Springboks and Pumas will contest the RWC bronze final on Friday and the winner is likely to be the world number three, with the sides separated in the rankings by less than one point.
Under the points exchange system used to calculate rankings, sides take points off each other based on the match result; whatever one side gains, the other loses. Such points exchanges are doubled during the Rugby World Cup to recognise the unique importance of the event.
African News Agency