Scotland equal highest world ranking and overtake England after Argentina win

Gregor Townsend’s side have leapfrogged both Los Pumas and England, who were soundly beaten by South Africa in Johannesburg, to move to fifth in the table. Their victory at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes puts them on 84.11 ranking points.

The Springboks remain top of the standings while New Zealand sit second, Ireland are third and France are fourth. One place below the Scots are England in sixth while Argentina have dropped to seventh because of their defeat. Fiji in ninth and Italy in tenth make up the top ten with Wales 11th and Japan 12th.

It is the first time Scotland have occupied fifth place since 2023 following a 29-23 win at Twickenham.

Latest World Rugby men’s rankings after round one of Nations Championship

Here are the lates World Rugby men’s rankings in full:

1. South Africa – 93.94
2. New Zealand – 91.04
3. Ireland – 89.32
4. France – 86.75
5. Scotland – 84.71
6. England – 83.91
7. Argentina – 83.77
8. Australia – 81.28
9. Fiji – 79.53
10. Italy – 77.31
11. Wales – 76.68
12. Japan – 76.42
13. Georgia – 72.67
14. USA – 69.40
15. Portugal – 68.51
16. Uruguay – 68.46
17. Chile – 67.31
18. Samoa – 66.91
19. Tonga – 66.88
20. Spain – 66.64
21. 21. Belgium – 61.02
22. Romania – 60.08
23. Canada – 59.63
24. Hong Kong China – 59.14
25. Zimbabwe – 58.59

How are the World Rugby rankings calculated?

The World Rugby rankings are calculated on a ‘points exchange’ system. That means that rather than points being won and lost they are swapped between nations based on results.

Scotland gained the points which helped them climb the rankings from Argentina who dropped down as a result. However, there are some important points to note on the way the system works.

Winning by more than 15 points increases the points exchange margin while the points difference between two sides before they face each other is also considered. The further apart two nations are in the table the less points the higher ranked country is able to gain by winning.

There has also historically been home advantage factored in to the way points are exchanged. That is how Scotland have managed to make such a significant leap in the rankings, by beating a team who were above them away from home.

Your next rugby read: South Africa team named five days before Scotland clash with 10 changes to side that smashed England