Rankings: Good reason for the Springboks to be wary

The Springboks have only ever lost to Italy once before, and a repeat of this result would seem almost unfathomable this Saturday, but Rassie Erasmus will have been reminding his players of how important it will be to treat the Azzurri with the necessary respect.

Italy are coming off a famous win over Australia, and their confidence will be at an all time high, while the Springboks are fielding a completely new-look team.

Ultimately, South Africa will still be overwhelming favourites, and when looking at the permutations for the world rankings, there is more than enough incentive to ensure they are ‘switched on’.

If the Springboks were to fail to beat Italy, and New Zealand triumph against England, then South Africa would lose top spot in the rankings just a week away from playing Ireland.

The rankings will take on added significance in 2025, a year that will see all 24 qualified teams for
Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia confirmed by the end of November. The rankings will be
used to place the 24 teams into bands for the draw, with those ranked 1-6 in Band 1, 7-12 in Band 2
and so on.

WHAT THE SPRINGBOKS MUST KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEKEND’S RANKINGS PERMUTATIONS

• South Africa are unable to improve their rating by beating Italy this weekend as a consequence of the 14.08 rating points between the teams.
• However, a victorious Springbok outfit cannot lose top spot this weekend as New Zealand are unable to overturn the 1.70-point difference by beating England at Allianz Stadium.
• The closest that New Zealand can get to South Africa is 0.25 rating points if the Springboks win on Saturday.
• If South Africa fail to win, though, then they will surrender top spot to a victorious All Blacks, but can fall no lower than second as Ireland are unable to improve their rating by beating Australia in Dublin.
• This is a consequence of Ireland being 7.16 rating points above the Wallabies before home weighting is factored in.
• A victorious Ireland will slip a place if England beat the All Blacks to climb to third, a position they last occupied briefly in February 2022.
• England cannot gain enough points to overtake New Zealand, even if they win by more than 15 points.
• France can only gain a maximum of 0.18 points for beating ninth-ranked Fiji by more than 15 points, which would be enough to lift them to third if England and Ireland both lose.
• Australia can move into the top six – and Band 1 for the RWC 2027 Draw – if they beat Ireland by more than 15 points and Argentina fail to beat Scotland at Murrayfield.
• If Los Pumas lose, then Australia simply need a win to climb to sixth.
• The Wallabies could climb another place to fifth if they win by more than 15 points and
• France suffer a loss to Fiji by the same margin.
• France can also drop out of the top six themselves if the above happens in tandem with an
• Argentina victory in Scotland. Les Bleus have not been ranked outside the top six since January 2020.
• Fiji could also force their way into the top six – for the first time – if they win by more than 15 points and Argentina and Australia both lose.
• Scotland will climb above Australia if they beat Argentina and the Wallabies lose in Dublin, however they are unable to catch Los Pumas this weekend as a win by more than 15 points would see them trail by 0.06.

Here are all the kick off times for six big Test matches:

• Italy vs South Africa: 14:40 (Saturday, November 15)
• England vs New Zealand: 17:10 (Saturday, November 15)
• Wales vs Japan: 19:40 (Saturday, November 15)
• Ireland vs Australia: 22:10 (Saturday, November 15)
• France vs Fiji: 22:10 (Saturday, November 15)
• Scotland vs Argentina: 17:10 (Sunday, November 16)

REMINDER OF THE LATEST WORLD RANKINGS