The Springboks’ 32-17 victory over France in Paris has extended their lead over the second-placed All Blacks in the World Rugby rankings.
Springboks extend rankings lead
The Boks are now 1.71 ranking points ahead of their arch-rivals, who beat eighth-placed Scotland 25-17 at Murrayfield.
Italy remain 10th despite upsetting the seventh-placed Wallabies 26-19 in Udine, but have closed the gap on ninth-placed Fiji, who lost 38-18 to fourth-placed England at Twickenham.
Sixth-placed Argentina are now within 2.65 ranking points of France after hammering Wales 52-28 in Cardiff, with the Dragons staying 12th
World Rugby rankings
1. South Africa 93.06 (+0.86)
2. New Zealand 91.35 (+0.36)
3. Ireland 88.85
4. England 88.06 (+0.02)
5. France 86.95 (-0.86)
6. Argentina 84.30 (+0.48)
7. Australia 81.69 (-1.21)
8. Scotland 81.21 (-0.36)
9. Fiji 81.15 (-0.02)
10. Italy 78.98 (+1.21)
11. Georgia 74.69
12. Wales 73.57 (-0.48)
13. Japan 73.25
14. Spain 69.12
15. USA 67.40
Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks’ 32-17 win over France in Paris was built on selfless decisions, calm thinking and sheer grit after Lood de Jager’s red card left them with 14 men for the entire second half.
The world champions stunned Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Saturday night, delivering one of their most composed away performances in recent years.
Erasmus praised his players for staying disciplined under pressure, and for making tough calls in the heat of battle.
Our captain in his 100th game being taken off because we had to get Andre [Esterhuizen] on who can play loose forward and centre depending on whether we have a scrum or a lineout, so a tough call for a captain to go off at half time,” Erasmus explained.
The tactical reshuffle paid off. The Boks absorbed relentless French pressure and finished stronger, with Erasmus crediting both the bench and his coaching staff for executing the half-time plan to perfection.
“The guys who started probably softened up the opposition a little bit, and the bench came on to finish it,” Erasmus said.
“Manie [Libbok] came on and Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] moved to fullback – that worked well – so I thought everyone had a good impact, but that impact comes from the players understanding that it’s a 23-man effort. In our case it’s 34 guys on tour and I think the plans the coaches made at half time made it easier for the guys who came on.”
