All Blacks move up World Rugby rankings as Wallabies drop to record low

The All Blacks have rebounded up the world rankings into fourth, while upcoming Bledisloe Cup opponents Australia dropped to a record low of No 8.

Coming off an impressive 53-3 thrashing of the Pumas, the All Blacks have moved back up from fifth – their lowest ever position – to fourth in World Rugby's rankings, leapfrogging the inactive England.

Despite their heavy loss, Argentina moved up the rankings by one spot to No 6 over Scotland, who are also inactive.

The Wallabies' 24-8 defeat to South Africa – their first loss to the Boks at home in nine years – has seen Dave Rennie's side fall two spots from sixth to an all-time low of eighth, dropping below Argentina and Scotland.

Australia are now only a quarter of a point ahead of Wales in the rankings, the side directly below them, ahead of two tests against the All Blacks.

The Springboks remain in third place after their victory, behind France in second and Ireland at the top.

After the weekend's fixtures, the Rugby Championship ladder was shaken up once again with the All Blacks rocketing up to the top spot with 10 points, edging the rest of the teams by one extra bonus point.

The Wallabies (second), South Africa (third) and Argentina (fourth) all sit on nine points in one of the tightest Rugby Championships ever.

World Rugby's latest men's rankings
1. Ireland (90.03 - maintained position)
2. France (89.41 - maintained position)
3. South Africa (87.89 - maintained position)
4. New Zealand (86.41 - up from fifth)
5. England (86.25 - down from fourth)
6. Argentina (82.32 - up from seventh)
7. Scotland (81.93 - up from eighth)
8. Australia (81.54 - down from sixth)
9. Wales (81.28 - maintained position)
10. Japan (77.74 - maintained position)

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission