UPDATED: Springboks back to No 1 in latest rankings

The Springboks will be back in action this weekend, and in terms of the world rugby rankings, they already had a vested interested in the clash between Ireland and the All Blacks on Friday night.

Ireland were guaranteed to remain on top of the rankings if they beat New Zealand in Dublin, but they ultimately slipped to a 23-13 that has already seen a shake-up to the world rugby rankings.

The All Blacks have now jumped ahead of Ireland into second spot, while Andy Farrell’s team have fallen from No 1 to No 3 as a result of losing 1.55 rankings points.

It leaves the Springboks top of the rankings, but they will be desperate to make sure of victory against Scotland in order to avoid also falling behind New Zealand.

UPDATED RUGBY WORLD RANKINGS

REMAINING FIXTURES THIS WEEKEND:

SATURDAY, 9 NOVEMBER

Canada vs Chile – 13:00

Kenya vs Uganda – 15:00

Netherlands vs Zimbabwe – 15:00

Portugal vs USA – 16:00

England vs Australia – 17:10

Romania vs Tonga – 18:00

Italy vs Argentina – 19:40

France vs Japan – 22:10

SUNDAY, 10 NOVEMBER

Wales vs Fiji – 15:40

Scotland vs South Africa – 18:10

Other permutations as the Springboks swing back into action:

• France cannot improve their rating in fourth with victory over Japan as a result of the 14.65 points difference between the sides before home weighting is factored in.
• However, there is scope for plenty of movement among the other teams in action in the Autumn Nations Series or men’s internationals this weekend.
• Four teams can end the weekend in fourth – current incumbents France and then Argentina, England and Scotland if Les Bleus lose at home to Japan.
• Los Pumas will jump two places to fourth if they beat Italy and France are beaten on home soil by Japan, regardless of what England do against Australia.
• For England to climb to fourth they must not only defeat Australia, but also hope that Argentina and Scotland fail to win and France lose by more than 15 points.
• If Argentina and Scotland do win then England will fall a place to sixth even if they beat the Wallabies by more than 15 points – two if France’s defeat is by a smaller margin.
• England have not been as low as seventh since February 2016.
• Scotland must win by more than 15 points if Los Pumas secure a narrow victory to reach a new high of fourth place.
• Italy are currently at their highest-ever position of eighth and cannot go any higher, even if they beat Argentina by more than 15 points as there is not a combination of results to make this possible.
• The Azzurri could beat Los Pumas and still fall a place if Australia beat England at Allianz Stadium.
• Fiji could climb as many as two places with victory over Wales, but it is dependent on the scoreline and results of other matches involving teams around them.
• Wales cannot improve on 11th place even if they beat Fiji by more than 15 points, although the deficit would be cut to just 0.03 rating points.
• There is a scenario where Wales could drop to a new low of 12th – if they lose to Fiji by more than 15 points and Japan beat France by the same margin.
• Japan would jump three places in this case, also climbing above both Samoa and Georgia who are not in test action this weekend with the latter playing the All Blacks XV in Montpellier.

SPRINGBOKS V SCOTLAND TEAM LINE-UPS

Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams

Scotland: 15 Tom Jordan, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Date: Sunday, November 10
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16.10 (18.10 SA time)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)