Nothing in Test rugby is ever settled for long, and the world rugby rankings are about to be shaken for the second week running. Saturday’s round two of the Nations Championship serves up six Tests in a single day, and several of them carry direct consequences at the top of the global standings.
The opening round already redrew the map. As reported by World Rugby, five teams climbed the standings after round one: Scotland, Chile, USA, Samoa and Canada. The headline act was Scotland, whose 47-38 win over Argentina in Cordoba lifted Gregor Townsend’s side from seventh to fifth — equalling their best-ever position — while Los Pumas dropped to seventh and England slipped to sixth. For Scottish supporters, a ranking that once looked like a ceiling suddenly reads like a launchpad.
Yet, looking at Saturday’s fixture list, the harder question is who can protect what they won last weekend.
Can Scotland Protect Fifth In The World Rugby Rankings In Pretoria?
Scotland’s reward for their statement win is the most demanding assignment in the sport: Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa, the world’s No.1 side, at Loftus Versfeld. The Springboks opened with a 45-21 dismantling of England in Johannesburg and remain the benchmark at the top of the world rugby rankings. Finn Russell returns to steer Scotland in Pretoria as they look to consolidate their new rankings position before facing Fiji at Murrayfield in round three. An upset at Loftus, meanwhile, would cut into South Africa’s lead at the summit and hand Scotland one of the most valuable results in their history.
All Blacks Chasing The Springboks’ No.1 Spot
According to Planet Rugby, the All Blacks are hunting down the Springboks at the top of the standings after their 34-32 win over France in Christchurch. Dave Rennie’s second-ranked side face Italy in Wellington on Saturday morning, and the new-look All Blacks selection is expected to extend a perfect record against the Azzurri. Victory keeps the pressure on South Africa before the two rivals meet at Ellis Park in August. Ireland and France, ranked third and fourth, are also in action, against Japan and Australia respectively — meaning the entire top four could gain or bleed rating points inside 12 hours.
England’s Fight To Stop The Slide Against Fiji
Further down the table, England’s trajectory is the most alarming. Sky Sports reports that Steve Borthwick’s side, now sixth, are attempting to end a run of five successive Test defeats when they meet Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. Defeat to a Fiji side beaten by Wales in round one would deepen the crisis and invite further rankings damage. The round-one climbers lower down — USA up to 14th, their highest since the 2019 World Cup, Chile equalling their best-ever 17th, with Samoa 18th and Canada 23rd — showed how quickly momentum now moves in the rankings era of cross-hemisphere competition.
The pattern of this new tournament is already unmistakable: every fixture is a rankings event, and nobody gets a quiet weekend. By Saturday night the world rugby rankings will tell us whether Scotland’s rise is real, whether the All Blacks’ pursuit of the Springboks is serious, and whether England’s slide has finally found its floor.
