World Rankings - What it means for Rugby Championship teams
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World Rugby has published the ranking permutations for this weekend's matches in The Rugby Championship and the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1.
Permutation highlights:
- South Africa cannot improve their rating with victory over Australia due to the 7.17 rating point difference between the sides before home weighting is factored in.
- However, the Springboks can improve on fourth place if they win and New Zealand are beaten by Argentina – a scenario which would see the sides swap places.
- The Wallabies would fall one place to eighth in this scenario with Los Pumas climbing two places to sixth on the back of a first test victory over the All Blacks on Argentine soil.
- Argentina will also climb above Scotland into fifth place if their victory margin is by more than 15 points.
- Australia will climb two places to fifth if they draw in Pretoria, climbing above Scotland and England.
- South Africa cannot fall from fourth place even if beaten by more than 15 points at home, although their advantage would be cut to only 1.17 over Australia below.
- Los Pumas will remain eighth in defeat as they will only lose a maximum of 0.72 rating points, which would still leave them 1.92 points ahead of Wales below.