The World Rugby Rankings (formerly the IRB Rankings) is a
ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
system for national teams in
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
, managed by
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
, the sport's governing body. There are separate men's and women's rankings. The teams of World Rugby's member nations are ranked based on their game results, with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used, with points being awarded on the basis of the results of World Rugby-recognized international matches. Rankings are based on the team's performance, with more recent results and more significant matches being more heavily weighted to help reflect the current competitive state of a team. The men's ranking system was introduced the month before the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
, with the first new rankings issued on 8 September 2003.
Men's rankings
Rank leaders
World Rugby Ranking Leaders
When the system was introduced
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
were the top team and maintained that position following victory in the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
.
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
took the lead from 14 June 2004.
After winning the
2007 Rugby World Cup final,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
became the third team to achieve first place. The first two fixtures of the
2008 Tri Nations resulted in the top two teams switching places: the All Blacks regained the top spot after defeating South Africa in the Tri-Nations opener on 5 July 2008
in Wellington; a week later the Springboks returned the favour
in Dunedin, scoring their first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1998, reclaiming the top spot, only for the All Blacks to defeat both
Australia and South Africa in August 2008 to regain the top spot by a considerable margin. South Africa regained the lead in July 2009 after beating New Zealand in
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
and kept the lead until losing to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in November of that year, allowing the All Blacks to regain the top spot.
A change at the top would not occur for a record period of 508 weeks (from 16 November 2009 to 19 August 2019), when
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
became the top ranked team for the first time after defeating England at
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in a
World Cup 2019 warm-up test in August, following on a streak in which they won 15 of 16 tests, including a
Six Nations Grand Slam. Two weeks later New Zealand returned to the top of the summit following
Ireland's victory over Wales in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in a
World Cup 2019 warm-up test. However, on 7 September 2019, Ireland defeated Wales again, this time in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, and they were installed as the number 1 team for the first time in their history, which they held entering the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
.
The first round of matches in the 2019 Rugby World Cup saw a further change at the top, with New Zealand's pool stage victory over the Springboks seeing them regain the top spot. England's defeat of New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals saw them return to the top spot for the first time since 2004. A week later, South Africa reclaimed top spot after defeating England in the final.
2021 saw the ranking lead change several times with South Africa and New Zealand each holding the top spot at various points. In 2022, France replaced South Africa on top of the rankings following their victory over
Japan in their
summer tour and the Springboks' home defeat by a
touring Wales team. A week later, Ireland claimed top spot following victory in their
summer tour to New Zealand.
Since the rankings began, the winners of every edition of the World Cup have held the number 1 spot at the end of the tournament.
New Zealand have been the most consistently ranked #1 team since the introduction of the world rankings in 2003, having held the #1 ranking for 75% of the time during this period. South Africa is second with 20% of the time, with England, Wales, Ireland and France making up the remainder.
To date, 2019 is the only calendar year in which more than three nations have held the number 1 spot - with five nations holding that title at some point during the year.
Best and worst ranking positions
Below is a list of the best and worst ranking positions for nations that have appeared in the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
:
Rating leaders
According to
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
the "top side in the World will normally have a rating above 90", however, this is not always the case.
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
retained the number 1 position in August 2019 following defeat by
Australia at
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
in
the Rugby Championship, despite their ratings falling to 89.04. A week later,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
increased their rating to 89.43 and claimed the top spot by beating
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in a
World Cup 2019 warm-up test. In contrast, some countries that have reached a rating of over 90 rating points, such as Australia (91.75) and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
(91.17), did not achieve the top spot, although Ireland would eventually reach the top of the summit with a rating of 89.47 following their victory over Wales in a
World Cup 2019 warm-up test in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, while Australia still to date have never attained the number 1 ranked position. This is due to the success of New Zealand who had been rated above 90 rating points for a record of 509 weeks and 6 days (from 2 November 2009 to 11 August 2019), which ended following the aforementioned defeat to Australia.
New Zealand also holds the record for the highest rating points amassed by any team, which currently stands at 96.57. England first held the record at 93.99 on the 24 November 2003, following their
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
win in Australia; however, New Zealand surpassed this on 28 August 2006 with a rating of 94.62, following their
Tri Nations victory over
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
. The All Blacks would go on to push this record further over the years, reaching 95.01 points on the 25 June 2007 after beating South Africa in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, 96.10 points after their
2015 World Cup win in England and 96.30 points on 22 August 2016, following their
Rugby Championship victory over Australia in
Sydney, to its current record of 96.57, which they attained on 10 October 2016 after defeating South Africa in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
. New Zealand's defeat by Ireland at
Soldier Field, Chicago as part of the
Autumn International Test Series in November 2016 ended their record streak.
Most and least accumulated ratings
Below is a list of the most and least accumulated rating points for each of the nations that have appeared in the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
since the ranking tables were first published on the 13 October 2003:
List of rankings leader
Summary
Updated until 5 December 2022
Current calculation method
All World Rugby member countries have been given a rating that is in the range of 0 to 100 with the top side achieving a rating of about 90 points. The point system is calculated using a 'Points Exchange' system, in which sides receive points from each other on the basis of the match result – whatever one side gains, the other loses. The exchanges are based on the match result, the ranking of each team, and the margin of victory, with an allowance for home advantage. As the system aims to depict current team strengths, past successes or losses will fade and be superseded by more recent results. Thus, it is thought that it will produce an accurate picture depicting the actual current strength and thus rank of the nations.
The rankings are responsive to results and it is possible to climb to the top from the bottom (and vice versa) in fewer than 20 matches. As all matches are worth a net of 0 points for the two teams combined, there is no particular advantage to playing more matches. A rating stays the same until the team plays again. Although matches often result in points exchanges, 'predictable' results lead to very minor changes, and may result in no change to either side's rating.
Rules
The system ensures that it is representative of the teams' performance despite playing differing numbers of matches each year, and the differing strength of opposition that teams have to face. The factors taken into account are as follows:
*Match result
*Match status
*Opposition strength
*Home advantage
=Match result
=
For each match played points exchanges are awarded for the following five outcomes and was developed using results of international matches from 1871 to the present day:
* a win or loss by more than 15 points
* a win or loss by up to 15 points
* a draw
=Match status
=
Different matches have different importance to teams, and World Rugby has tried to reflect this by using a weighting system, where the most significant matches are in the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
Finals. Points exchanges are doubled during the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
Finals to recognise the unique importance of this event. All other full international matches are treated the same, to be as fair as possible to countries playing a different mix of friendly and competitive matches. Matches that do not have full international status do not count.
=Opposition strength
=
A win against a very highly ranked opponent is a considerably greater achievement than a win against a low-rated opponent, so the strength of the opposing team is a factor. Thus match results are more important than margins of victory in producing accurate rankings. This is because when a highly ranked team plays a lowly ranked team and manages to beat them by over 50 points, it does not necessarily indicate how either team will perform in the future.
= Home advantage
=
When calculating points exchanges, the home side is handicapped by treating them as though they are three rating points better than their current rating. This results in the home side gaining fewer points for winning and losing more points for losing. Because of this, ideally, any advantage that a side may have by playing in front of their home crowd is cancelled out.
= How to calculate the Points Exchange
=
Take the pre-match Points Ranking Score of Team Y.
If Y has home advantage, add 3 to its pre-match Points Ranking Score.
This is the “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” for Team Y.
Call it “A”.
Take the pre-match Points Ranking Score of Team Z.
If Z has home advantage, add 3 to its pre-match Points Ranking Score.
This is the “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” for Team Z.
Call it “B”.
Calculate the Difference between the two “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Scores”.
Call it “D”.
Apply the formula from the relevant item in this list:
''World Cup Matches''
... Team Y wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.3 capped at 6
... Team Y wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.2 capped at 4
... The match is a draw
*see note 9............... D x 0.2 capped at 2
... Team Z wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.2 capped at 4
... Team Z wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.3 capped at 6
''Other International''
... Team Y wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.15 capped at 3
... Team Y wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.1 capped at 2
... The match is a draw
*see note 9............... D x 0.1 capped at 1
... Team Z wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.1 capped at 2
... Team Z wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.15 capped at 3
The team with the higher “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed the “Favourite”.
The team with the lower “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed the “Underdog”.
A team whose “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” is 10+ points lower than their opponents’ "Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed the “Outsider”.
An "Underdog" stands to gain more from a victory than does a "Favourite".
In the case of a draw, the points are transferred from the “Favourite” to the “Underdog” or “Outsider”. The transfer is capped at 1 (2 in a World Cup Match).
0There is no transfer of points if a “Favourite” beats an “Outsider”.
= New and dormant nations
=
All new member nations start with 30.00 points, which is provisional until they have completed ten
test matches. When countries merge, the new country inherits the higher rating of the two countries but when they split e.g., the 2010 breakup of the
Arabian Gulf rugby union team
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players that represented the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in international rugby union competitions. The team competed in international matches between 1993 and 2010, and was gov ...
into separate teams representing its current member countries, the new countries will inherit a rating at a fixed level below the rating of the original country.
Before 1 December 2012 new member nations were given 40.00 points.
Countries that have not played a
test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
for two years are removed from the ranking system and the list. If they become active again, they resume their previous rating.
***For a full explanation of how rankings are calculated, see th
World Rugby rankings website
Women's rankings
World Rugby also publishes rankings for women's teams.
References
External links
Official World RankingsOfficial World Rankings for Women's Teams
{{Sport world rankings
Rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* ...
Sports world rankings