Ireland Rugby Poised To Reclaim No. 1 Ranking After All Blacks Loss
Ireland Rugby Poised To Reclaim No. 1 Ranking After All Blacks Loss
Argentina Rugby beat New Zealand in The Rugby Championship. The World Rugby rankings will be different again.
Argentina Rugby delivered one of the biggest upsets in Rugby Championship history Aug. 23, defeating top-ranked New Zealand 29-23 in Buenos Aires.
The win not only electrified Los Pumas’ home crowd, it also ensured another dramatic shift in the World Rugby Rankings.
It was the second consecutive weekend the world’s No. 1 team has fallen.
In Round 1, South Africa squandered a 22-0 lead to lose 38-22 to Australia in Johannesburg, a result that ended the Springboks’ nine-month reign at the summit.
That slip elevated the All Blacks to the top spot — but only briefly.
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Ireland, idle over the past two weekends, now appears poised to reclaim No. 1 in the rankings for the first time since November 2024.
Argentina fought back from an early deficit to tie its match with NZ 13-13 at halftime, then surged ahead in the second half.
Fly-half Santiago Carreras delivered the decisive blow in the 73rd minute with a long-range penalty that extended Los Pumas’ lead to nine.
New Zealand’s late push closed the gap, but Argentina held firm to seal the six-point victory, 29-23.
The Rugby Championship table and the global rankings suddenly are wide open, with three different teams holding No. 1 status in the past month.
As the competition heads toward its third weekend, the chaos at the top reflects how tightly contested the international game has become.
Men's World Rugby Rankings Top 25
- New Zealand 92.51
- Ireland 89.83
- South Africa 89.78
- France 87.82
- England 87.64
- Australia 85.08
- Argentina 81.61
- Scotland 81.57
- Fiji 80.50
- Italy 77.77
- Georgia 74.69
- Wales 74.05
- Samoa 72.48
- Japan 72.29
- Spain 69.12
- USA 68.45
- Uruguay 67.52
- Portugal 66.44
- Tonga 65.46
- Chile 63.83
- Romania 62.67
- Belgium 61.20
- Hong Kong China 59.98
- Zimbabwe 58.80
- Canada 57.75
The Rugby Championship 2025 Schedule
Aug. 16
Aug. 23
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Sept. 13
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
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