How the rankings could change after Rugby Championship openers

The Springboks face off against the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener this weekend and while it won't be at the forefront of either sides' minds, both teams could improve their official World Rugby rankings.

Even with a potential victory, South Africa cannot improve their rating due to the significant 7.17 point difference between the teams before considering home weighting.

Nevertheless, the Boks have an opportunity to surpass their current fourth-place ranking if they secure a win and New Zealand's All Blacks are defeated by Argentina. Such an outcome would result in a swap between the two sides in the rankings. Additionally, in this scenario, the Wallabies would drop to eighth place, while the Pumas would climb two spots to sixth following their first-ever test victory over the All Blacks on home soil.

If Los Pumas manage to achieve a victory margin exceeding 15 points, they would surpass Scotland, climbing to fifth place in the rankings. Conversely, a draw for Australia in Pretoria would propel them two places up to fifth, surpassing Scotland and England.

South Africa, even if beaten by more than 15 points at home, will not drop from their fourth-place ranking, although their advantage over the Wallabies would shrink to a mere 1.17 points.

Looking at other teams, Argentina would remain in the eighth position even in defeat, as their rating points loss would be limited to a maximum of 0.72, still leaving them 1.92 points ahead of Wales.

Ben O'Keeffe will officiate the South Africa versus Australia match, while Angus Gardner will referee the clash between Argentina and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) achieved their highest-ever ranking position, provisionally climbing two places to 60th, following their remarkable 95-0 victory over Pakistan in the first leg. However, another victory would not result in further improvement, as it would only add 0.17 rating points.