Wales slip in world rankings

Warren Gatland’s men have dropped once place to seventh while Ireland are the big movers, leap-frogging both Wales and Samoa, who they beat at the Aviva Stadium 40-9.

Ireland went into their match with Samoa as the lower ranked of the two teams, but the convincing victory on Saturday means the Irish climb two places to sixth.

The margin of victory was enough to not only lift Ireland above Samoa but also Wales, albeit only by five hundredths of a rating point after the Welsh fell to a 24-15 defeat against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium.

This defeat means Wales have now gone 17 Tests without beating either the Springboks, Wallabies or All Blacks.
The win means South Africa narrow the deficit slightly to New Zealand above them with the All Blacks due to celebrate four years atop the IRB World Rankings on 16 November.

France’s 26-19 defeat by New Zealand has not proven too costly for Les Bleus, who maintain their spot but with a lower rating point total. The All Blacks are again unchallenged at top spot with a slightly improved rating.

Australia remain fourth after the 50-20 win over Italy but improve their total by half a point thanks to the try-fest in Turin.
England and Argentina began the weekend third and 10th respectively in the world and are unchanged despite the home side’s 31-12 victory at Twickenham.

Scotland stay ninth after their 42-17 win over Japan, but with an improved points rating, and the vanquished Brave Blossoms rise one place to 14th as a result of Canada’s 19-15 loss to Georgia in Tbilisi.

IRB World Rankings