19 September, 2019

Rugby World Cup 2019 – 20-22 September

World Rugby Men’s Rankings stats:
• New Zealand will return to top of rankings with victory, regardless of Ireland’s result
• If South Africa win and Ireland lose then the Springboks will occupy top spot for first time
since 16 November, 2009
• A win by more than 15 points for South Africa will guarantee them top spot
• Ireland will only retain the number one ranking if they win and either South Africa do so by
less than 15 points, or the New Zealand-South Africa match ends in a draw

JAPAN (10) 76.70 v RUSSIA (20) 64.81 (20 September)

Japan win by 15 points or less – Japan 76.70, Russia 64.81 (No change)
Japan win by more than 15 points – Japan 76.70, Russia 64.81 (No change)
Draw – Japan 74.70, Russia 66.81
Russia win by 15 points or less – Japan 72.70, Russia 68.81
Russia win by more than 15 points – Japan 70.70, Russia 70.81

• Japan cannot improve their ranking with victory alone – it would need Fiji to lose by more than
15 points in tandem with an Argentina defeat to France
• Defeat would cost Japan their place in the top 10 with a drop to as low as 16th possible
• Russia will climb three places with victory
• Victory by more than 15 points will see Russia climb to a new high of 15th and be ranked
above Japan

AUSTRALIA (6) 84.05 v FIJI (9) 77.43 (21 September)

Australia win by 15 points or less – Australia 84.73, Fiji 76.75

Australia win by more than 15 points – Australia 85.07, Fiji 76.42
Draw – Australia 82.73, Fiji 78.75
Fiji win by 15 points or less – Australia 80.73, Fiji 80.75
Fiji win by more than 15 points – Australia 79.07, Fiji 82.42

• Australia can climb the rankings if they win by more than 15 points and South Africa are
beaten by the same margin and/or England lose to Tonga
• Fiji will be the higher-ranked of the two nations if they win with an all-time high of sixth
possible if France and Scotland both lose
• Defeat for Australia could see them fall to their lowest ever rankings of ninth

FRANCE (8) 79.72 v ARGENTINA (11) 76.29 (21 September)

France win by 15 points or less – France 81.04, Argentina 74.97

France win by more than 15 points – France 81.69, Argentina 74.32
Draw – France 79.04, Argentina 76.97
Argentina win by 15 points or less – France 77.04, Argentina 78.97
Argentina win by more than 15 points – France 75.69, Argentina 80.32

• France will climb above Scotland if they win and the Scots lose to Ireland
• Argentina can only fall if a defeat is coupled with a win for Tonga over England
 • Eighth place is the best Argentina can hope to achieve
• France could fall out of the top 10 for the first time if they lose by more than 15 points

NEW ZEALAND (2) 89.40 v SOUTH AFRICA (4) 87.34 (21 September)

New Zealand win by 15 points or less – New Zealand 90.98, South Africa 85.75
New Zealand win by more than 15 points – New Zealand 91.78, South Africa 84.95
Draw – New Zealand 88.98, South Africa 87.75
South Africa win by 15 points or less – New Zealand 86.98, South Africa 89.75
South Africa win by more than 15 points – New Zealand 85.78, South Africa 90.95

• New Zealand will return to top of rankings in victory – even if Ireland also win
• South Africa can also climb to the summit if they win and Ireland fail to beat Scotland
• A Springbok victory of more than 15 points would guarantee them first place even if Ireland
win by the same margin
• Defeat will see New Zealand drop out of the top three nations for the first time in history –
falling as low as fifth
• South Africa will swap places with Wales below them in defeat and could fall below Australia if
they lose by more than 15 points and the Wallabies win by that margin

ITALY (14) 72.04 v NAMIBIA (23) 61.01 (22 September)

Italy win by 15 points or less – Italy 72.04, Namibia 61.01 (No change)
Italy win by more than 15 points – Italy 72.04, Namibia 61.01 (No change)
Draw – Italy 70.04, Namibia 63.01
Namibia win by 15 points or less – Italy 68.04, Namibia 65.01
Namibia win by more than 15 points – Italy 66.04, Namibia 67.01

• Italy can only improve on 14th place if Japan lose by more than 15 points to Russia
• Defeat will see Italy slip to their lowest ever ranking of 17th – 19th if loss if by more than 15
points
• Namibia will climb three places in victory (if Russia lose) and would be the higher ranked of the
nations if they beat Italy by more than 15 points with a new high of 17th

IRELAND (1) 89.47 v SCOTLAND (7) 81.00 (22 September)

Ireland win by 15 points or less – Ireland 89.78, Scotland 80.69

Ireland win by more than 15 points – Ireland 89.93, Scotland 80.54
Draw – Ireland 87.78, Scotland 82.69
Scotland win by 15 points or less – Ireland 85.78, Scotland 84.69
Scotland win by more than 15 points – Ireland 83.93, Scotland 86.54

• Ireland can only retain top spot if they win and South Africa do by less than 15 points – or the
New Zealand-South Africa match ends in a draw like their last meeting in July
• It is possible, depending on other results, for Ireland to go from first to seventh by the end of
the weekend with a loss by more than 15 points
• Such a scenario could see Scotland climb to third for the first time in rankings history,
depending on other results
• Scotland could drop as low as ninth with a loss by more than 15 points if Fiji and France win
19 September, 2019

ENGLAND (3) 88.13 v TONGA (15) 71.04 (22 September)

England win by 15 points or less – England 88.13, Tonga 71.04 (No change)
England win by more than 15 points – England 88.13, Tonga 71.04 (No change)
Draw – England 86.13, Tonga 73.04
Tonga win by 15 points or less – England 84.13, Tonga 75.04
Tonga win by more than 15 points – England 82.13, Tonga 77.04

• With no rating points available for victory, England can only improve their position if Ireland
fail to beat Scotland
• Defeat for England could see them fall as low as seventh
• Tonga will climb above a losing Italy, USA and Georgia with victory
• They could return to the top 10 for the first time since just before RWC 2015, although this
requires Japan and Argentina to also lose