World Rugby Women's Rankings preview: 13-14 October, 2023

World Rugby has published the ranking permutations for the opening round of matches in the inaugural WXV 2 and WXV 3 tournaments this weekend. 

Permutation highlights:

• As the highest-ranked team in WXV 2, USA are unable to improve their rating with victory over Samoa due to the 14.61 points difference between the sides.
• Italy, the side below the Women’s Eagles in eighth, can gain as much as 1.27 rating points by beating Japan but this would still leave them 0.57 points behind a victorious USA side.
• However, if USA fail to beat Samoa then Italy will climb above them if they avenge their 25-24 loss to Japan on home soil last month.
• Scotland can only gain just over one rating point by beating South Africa by more than 15 points so cannot improve on ninth place unless Italy lose to Japan or the Women’s Eagles lose by more than 15 points against Samoa.
• Defeat for South Africa will see them fall one place to 13th if Spain beat the lower-ranked Kenya in WXV 3.
• The Springbok Women cannot improve on 12th place even if they beat Scotland by more than 15 points and Ireland lose to Kazakhstan by the same margin in WXV 3 as 0.96 rating points would still separate the teams.
• Japan will climb above Scotland to a new high of ninth if both teams draw their opening WXV 2 fixtures against Italy and South Africa.
• The Sakura 15s will become the higher ranked of the two nations if they beat Italy and could go as high as seventh, depending on margin and the results of USA and Scotland.
• Defeat could see Italy drop out of the top 10 for the first time since the rankings were introduced in February 2016 if they lose by more than 15 points.
• A win for Samoa will lift them above Russia in 14th place. They cannot go higher unless they win by more than 15 points and Spain lose to Kenya by the same margin.
• In WXV 3, Ireland cannot improve their rating by beating Kazakhstan due to the 13.55 points difference between the teams.
• Fiji also are unable to improve with victory over the lower-ranked Colombia as a result of the 11.70 points difference between the teams.
• The same is true for Spain, who are unable to improve their rating with victory over Kenya due to the 17.69 rating points difference between the teams.
• Ireland could still improve on 11th place, however, as they would swap places with a beaten Japan.
• A draw would see Kazakhstan climb one place, swapping places with Hong Kong China to become the second highest ranked team in Asia behind Japan.
• Kazakhstan could climb as high as 15th with victory by more than 15 points, unless Samoa upset USA.
• Colombia’s reward for avoiding defeat against Fiji would be a one-place climb to a new high of 24th.
• Fiji will fall one place – dropping below Sweden – if beaten by Colombia in the first meeting between the two nations.
• A new high of 22nd awaits Kenya if they can upset Spain by any margin.

VIEW WORLD RUGBY WOMEN'S RANKINGS POWERED BY CAPGEMINI >>

• Kat Roche (USA) has the honour of refereeing the inaugural WXV fixture when she takes charge of Italy v Japan in Stellenbosch on Friday. It will be the first time she referees Japan in a test, while Italy lost 68-5 to England in their own test with Roche in the middle.
• Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) will referee Scotland and South Africa for the first time, having only made her test debut with Japan's 41-36 defeat of Fiji in Tokyo last month.
• Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) takes charge of a test match featuring two non-African teams for the first time with the WXV 2 encounter between USA and Samoa on Saturday. She refereed Samoa's 17-17 draw with South Africa last weekend. 
• Amelia Luciano (USA) gets WXV 3 underway in Dubai with the first meeting between Fiji and Colombia. It will be her first test appointment as a referee since September 2019.
• Doriane Domenjo (France), fresh from being the 'sub controller' in four Rugby World Cup 2023 matches in Toulouse, will referee Ireland and Kazakhstan for the first time with the latter the first team she has officiated from outside of Europe.
• Maria Latos (Germany) takes charge of the last WXV 3 match in round one with Spain v Kenya on Saturday. She referees both teams for the first time with this her first test in the middle since she oversaw Czechia v Moldova in the men's Rugby Europe Conference 1 North last November.  

The rankings preview can be read via the Match Notes page in the WXV section of the Media Zone.