The Springboks’ 38-22 defeat to the Wallabies at Ellis Park has cost them the World Rugby No 1 ranking.
The Springboks were defeated 38-22 at Ellis Park on Saturday evening.
As a result, South Africa has fallen to THIRD spot in the latest rugby world rankings.
The Boks’ have dropped to third, below the All Blacks and Ireland, after losing three ranking points. They had held top spot since winning the 2003 World Cup.
The Wallabies remain sixth despite gaining three ranking points, but have narrowed the gap on England and France above them.
The now No 1-ranked All Blacks picked up 0.45 ranking points from their 41-24 win against Argentina in Cordoba.
World Rugby rankings (Top 10)
1. New Zealand 92.51
2. Ireland 89.83
3. South Africa 89.78
4. France 87.82
5. England 87.64
6. Australia 85.08
7. Argentina 81.60
8. Scotland 81.57
9. Fiji 80.50
10. Italy 77.77
The All Blacks have risen to first place with the Springboks falling to third spot.
Meanwhile, Ireland has leapfrogged South Africa with the Irish now up to second.
So, New Zealand and Ireland moved up the world rankings without playing a single minute.
This is because the Boks lost to sixth-placed Australia at home by more than 15 points. Therefore, SA now sit on 89.78 points. The All Blacks will have a chance to extend their gap at the top when they take on Argentina in Argentina on Saturday evening.
This is one of the most embarrassing press conferences I’ve done in a long time,” the Springboks boss said after the game. “Not just because we were awful, but they were very good and credit to them.”
Starting well before letting the opposition back into the game occurred in the first Test match against Italy earlier this year, and Erasmus was annoyed that it reared its ugly head again on Saturday.
“It was the same against Italy, we were 27-3 up and then we let teams back in,” he added. “We can find excuses there but at the end of the day, they guts it out.
