The Weekend's World Rankings Permutations

While the British and Irish Lions may be taking the spotlight, there is plenty of test rugby being played this weekend. 

Samoa and Tonga get things underway on Saturday in the first leg of the Oceania 1 playoff for a spot in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

A win for Samoa will seem them climb above Tonga into 13th place on the overall World Rankings. A win for Tonga, even by 15 points or more, will not see them move above Georgia in 12th. Samoa will slip to at least 15th place if they lose to Tonga with Italy going ahead of them.

The All Blacks host Fiji in the second test match of the weekend and even if the All Blacks were to post another 100+ scoreline, they cannot improve their second-placed ranking as Fiji are ranked 9 places lower in 11th place.

However, Fiji could move back into the top 10 but would need to create a bit of history by not only beating the All Blacks for the first time but beat them by a margin of 15 points or more to go ahead of Japan. 

Over in the Rugby Europe Championship, The Netherlands will be the higher-ranked of the nations if they beat Portugal. The Dutch will climb three places into 21st place with a victory and if it is by 15 points or more, Portugal will drop three places. A win for Portugal will see them take 20th place in the rankings.

England cannot improve their ranking by beating 23rd ranked Canada but if the Canadians cause upset, they will climb above Hong Kong with a draw. A lose to Canada could see England fall as low as seventh from their current ranking of third.

Like England, Ireland cannot improve their ranking with a victory over the USA but if Gary Gold's charges claim an unlikely victory, Ireland could fall two or three places to sixth or seventh. If the Americans post a victory of 15 points or more, they will go ahead of Italy. If they just win, they could move up the rankings if Samoa also lose to Tonga.

Australia's 23-21 victory over France saw them move into fifth place on the overall World Rankings with France dropping to sixth and Wales to seventh. 

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