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The slim chance Wales have to break back into top 10
By Ian Cameron
Wales have an opportunity to break back into the top 10 of the World Rugby rankings this weekend, according to the latest ranking permutations published by World Rugby.
In July Wales dropped out of the top ten in the official World Rugby Rankings for the first time. A 2-0 series defeat against the Wallabies this summer extended Wales’ losing run to nine Tests – one short of equalling the record sequence in 2002 and 2003 under Steve Hansen.
They are on the verge of their worst run since they began playing international rugby 143 years ago.
Wales are currently ranked 11th but could regain their spot in the top ten. It all depends on the outcome of several matches in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2024.
For Wales to move up they need 10th-ranked Fiji to lose to the USA by more than 15 points in their semi-final match this weekend.
Fiji cannot gain any additional rating points from a win due to the significant 12.35-point differential between them and the lower-ranked USA. If Fiji suffers a heavy defeat they could fall one place; allowing Warren Gatland's side to take their position.
“Wales are clearly in a transition period, with the amount of players they have lost, are injured or unavailable,” former Wales captain Biggar told the PA news agency earlier this year. “I do think Warren is going with the mindset of building depth and exposing players with a World Cup plan.
“And I think there were some positive signs in that Test series. I thought Ben Thomas looked quite comfortable in the number 10 shirt, Sam Costelow when he came off the bench did really well, and I thought the back-row worked incredibly hard.
“The bottom line at the minute is Wales are in a rebuilding phase, and I thought there were enough promising signs on that tour to have something to build on.
Other matches in the Pacific Nations Cup will also impact the rankings. Japan, ranked 14th, could rise to 13th if they win their semi-final against Samoa. Conversely, if 13th-ranked Samoa wins, they would leapfrog Georgia into 12th place.
If Mahonri Schwalger's side wins by more than 15 points and Fiji loses by a similar margin, the two Pacific Island nations would be separated by just 0.13 rating points in 11th and 12th.
The USA has a chance to rise at least two places with a win over Fiji, potentially climbing three places if the margin is greater than 15 points or if Tonga loses to Canada in the fifth-place play-off. Meanwhile, Tonga cannot move beyond their current 16th position, though a loss to Canada could see them fall as many as three places.
additional reporting PA
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After the Ireland series defeat NZR effectively dumped 2 coaches (who they scapegoated) and put in 2 new coaches meant to save the day who were also meant to be apart of the Robertson bandwagon who he himself was to jump on after the expected Rugby Championship failure of 2022. Foster was left with staff he did not want in a set up increasingly hostile to him. It was clear that Foster was in a desperate position but then having found their feet, beating the Boks in SA in 2022 and winning the Rugby Championship that year he had his blushes spared and they decided to retain him. Whichever way you look at it Foster got some big results. He won every Rugby Championship he competed in and was one game, one point and maybe 5mins away from winning the World Cup. Sure he had a 70% win record but in his last year just lost 2 test matches. They didn't even give him a chance to prove himself or show his worth before they replaced him. He deserved more having served NZR for so long. Robinson is a hack who only cares about himself and will throw a coach under the bus as quickly as he can to save face. Razor needs to watch his back now that he has started poorly. There's no other way to describe it. He has time to turn it around but with many difficult tests remaining this year deeper questions may be asked of him. If he doesn't he may just be on the receiving end of the stick which NZR once used against foster and waged in his favour.
Go to commentsBecause until he moves on and Razor chjoses a new boy or shifts Ardie back, hes the best we have
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