World Rugby will remove home weighting from its rankings system from 1 July 2026, changing how international results are calculated when teams play at home, away or in neutral venues.
The governing body, chaired by Brett Robinson, has made the adjustment after accepting that the modern Test calendar no longer fits the traditional home-and-away model used when the rankings began.
The existing system gives the home team an extra three rating points for calculation purposes, reducing the ranking reward for winning at home and increasing the value of winning away.
Neutral Venues Have Forced A Rankings Reset
World Rugby said the change reflects the growing number of internationals staged in centralised or out-of-country locations, according to its rankings criteria update.
It cited Fiji playing three Nations Championship “home” matches in the UK, Japan meeting Ireland in Australia in July, and cluster-location fixtures in the World Rugby Nations Cup as examples of why the old weighting can now disadvantage nominal host unions.
The update also applies across men’s and women’s rankings. World Rugby said around 20 international matches are already scheduled at neutral locations before the end of 2026, including South Africa against New Zealand in Baltimore in September.
For supporters, the practical impact is simple: from July, ranking movement should be judged more on the match result and relative team strength than on a venue label that may no longer reflect true home advantage.
