Seismic world rankings change after whirlwind Rugby World Cup weekend

South Africa are back on top of the world ranking after a whirlwind Rugby World Cup quarter-final weekend which saw both Ireland and France dumped out of the tournament.

Ireland suffering a repeat of their RWC 2019 quarter-final loss to New Zealand means that South Africa will replace them at the summit of the World Rugby rankings following their victory over France. The Irish quarter-final curse struck again, with Andy Farrell's men unable to claw back an early All Blacks lead.

Ireland lose the top spot for the first time in over 12 months, as their 17-game unbeaten streak was brought to a dramatic end by Ian Foster's avenging All Blacks.

England's narrow win over the lower-ranked Fiji in Marseille sees them climb above Scotland into fifth.

The Flying Fijians remain in 10th despite their loss to Steve Borthwick's men, who are the only unbeaten team left in the tournament.

The fact that Argentina beat Wales and reach a second semi-final in three Rugby World Cups means that Los Pumas are now the higher-ranked of the two sides.

Double ranking points at the World Cup mean those teams left in the tournament can gain significant ground of those who have already exited, that is if they are not already in front of them on the log.