World Rankings set for Autumn Nations Series shake-up

Whilst England's Red Roses remain untouchable at the top of the World Rugby Women's Rankings, with a massive advantage over their nearest rivals Canada and currently standing at the highest rating there has ever been, the prize of being called the best men's team in the world is very much up for grabs over the coming weeks.

With South Africa having given up their near-12-month reign at the top during The Rugby Championship, despite winning their first southern hemisphere title since 2019, Ireland will go into the Autumn Nations Series at number one. However, with only 0.35 of a point separating Andy Farrell's Six Nations champions from the world champion Springboks, it could still be a very fluid situation in November, especially as the sides ranked one and two do not face other.

Ireland have four games to South Africa's three in the Autumn Nations Series, all at the fortress-like Aviva Stadium, but with home weighting taken into account, their ability to pick up points, against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia will be somewhat stymied.

Taking the All Blacks' scalp in Dublin on November 8th would undoubtedly net them the most points, as Scott Robertson's side are the closest of their November opponents in the rankings, with a gap of just 3.42 points between the two heavyweights. Whereas, as things stand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia are ranked sixth, ninth and 10th, with only minimal gains – if any – possible for wins in any of those three fixtures.

New Zealand could also have closed the gap on Ireland by the time the teams meet, as they'll have stolen a march on them by playing twice before November 8th, which would serve in Ireland's favour as they'll be more heavily rewarded if they do the business and register a third consecutive win over the All Blacks in Dublin.

First up, New Zealand take on Japan in Yokohama and whilst there are no points available for a win this Saturday, the All Blacks will pick up points if they do a number on England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, the following weekend.

Having lost three matches in a Rugby Championship campaign for the first time in history, New Zealand will be hoping a win over Japan will set them up nicely for a strong finish to the year and shut down any chat that they could match the unwanted record of the 1998 All Blacks.

Scott Robertson was a playing member of that squad, which was the first and only All Blacks outfit to lose five games in a calendar year, and won't want to see that stat repeated on his watch as head coach. After Japan, England and Ireland, New Zealand face another tough assignment against France at the Stade de France before signing off against Italy in Turin.

New Zealand have beaten Japan in all five previous Tests but in the the last two, Japan have scored 31 points, including a narrow seven-point defeat last time out in Tokyo in 2022. A historic win for Japan would result in New Zealand losing third place to France, while Japan would climb two places above Samoa and Georgia into 12th.

Japan's head coach Eddie Jones once had a proud record against the All Blacks in his time with Australia, and was the last person to lead the Wallabies to Bledisloe Cup glory in 2002. He was also the man in charge when England famously beat New Zealand in the semi-final of RWC 2019. But, overall, Jones' winning record against the All Blacks is only 33.3%, so a win this weekend would arguably rank close to the time his Brave Blossoms upset South Africa in the so-called 'Miracle of Brighton' match at RWC 2015.

In addition to the Autumn Nations Series appetiser in Yokohama City, there are a clutch of matches taking place in Rugby Europe competitions, with the clash between Sweden and Czechia in Trelleborg perhaps of most interest from a rankings point of view.

Sweden, who are making big strides under Englishman Alex Laybourne, are currently at their highest-ever ranking of 32nd. But they can raise the bar even higher this weekend, with a win of more than 15 points taking them above Germany and up to a new all-time high of 31st.

With Norway dropping out of the world's top 100 on the back of a dreadful 15-game losing run and Denmark and an improving Finland still some way off the pace, ranked 72nd and 78th, Sweden are the clear flag-bearers for Scandanavian rugby.