LONDON – On the eve of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, New Zealand are back on top of the World Rugby Men’s Rankings following Wales’ defeat to Ireland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff over the weekend.
World Rugby on Monday released the latest rankings, with Wales’ short reign at the summit now over.
Their 11-match winning run came to an end with Saturday’s 22-17 defeat to Ireland.
Wales have now dropped to fourth place behind New Zealand, Ireland and England, while South Africa's position remains unchanged at No 5.
The #Springboks in action at their Sunday afternoon training session in Sekhi, Japan. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/DAcCOc4Lzz
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 1, 2019
The top 10 nations in the latest World Rugby rankings are:
1 New Zealand 89.40
2 Ireland 88.86
3 England 88.13
4. Wales 87.92
5 South Africa 86.83
6 Australia 84.05
7 Scotland 81.00
8 France 79.72
9 Fiji 77.43
10 Japan 77.21