The Rugby World Rankings are updated each week to determine which international side is the best in the world.
What are the World Rugby Rankings?
The World Rugby rankings are a system for determining the world’s best rugby national teams. The rankings were introduced ahead of the 2003 World Cup, and England were the first men’s world number ones, retaining that status by winning the tournament. The All Blacks have had the longest spell as the World Number Ones, holding the top spot for nearly a 10-year period from November 2009 to August 2019. Only the Black Ferns and England have been World Number Ones. New Zealand were the original number one and held onto that position until December 2012. The rankings are officially updated once per week on the World Rugby website.
How the points exchange system works
The rugby world rankings are calculated on a points exchange model, each international test match sees the winner and loser of the match exchange ranking points on the leaderboard. All rankings sit between 0 and 100, with the world number one usually having a score of over 90.
A match rating is calculated using pre-match world ranking points, match location and tournament.
The maths behind the move: Calculating match ratings
Calculating world rankings can feel complicated, but the concept is relatively simple. The difference between the two sides’ World Ranking points is calculated, allowing for the home advantage rules.
The maximum match ratings that can be won or lost are 2 without any multipliers for win margin or competition.
Teams only gain a boost if they win or draw as an underdog. Even if an underdog loses by one point, they will gain no World Ranking points.
Home Advantage and the “Plus Three” rule
Teams playing at home are understood to have an advantage. The home team are given a 3 point increase to their ranking points before the match rating is calculated.
Therefore, an away win will result in a larger increase in World Ranking points than if the same team had won against the same opponent at home.
Scoring margins: The 15-point rule
15 points is a really important win margin when trying to boost World Rankings. When a win margin is by 15 points or more, the match rating is multiplied by 1.5.
When Ireland beat England at Twickenham in the 2026 Six Nations, England sat fourth in the world, and Ireland sat fifth. England’s pre-match rating was 87.71 and Ireland’s 86.81. Ireland won the game 41-21, being away, the rating difference was increased by three and with the >15 point winning margin, Ireland saw a huge boost in their rating. After the match, Ireland jumped up to third in the World Rankings on 88.89, and England ended up fifth with an 85.62 rating.
Why the Rugby World Cup changes everything
The Rugby World Cup is a massive occasion for the world rankings as matches in the tournament are worth double points. The best example of this came in the 2015 World Cup when Japan beat South Africa. Before the game, South Africa sat in third with an 85.15 rating. Japan were sitting 13th with a rating of 72.18.
With the 34-32 win, South Africa dropped to sixth in the world with a rating of 81.15, and Japan jumped up to 11th with a rating of 76.18.
How rankings impact seeding and tournament cycles
The World Rankings are given their biggest significance every four years for the draw of the Rugby World Cup.
In December 2025, the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup was made. At that time, the 24 teams qualified were separated into four bands based on their World Ranking. One team from each band was placed into each group, providing a seeded group based on World Rankings.
