South Africa have stretched their lead at the top of the World Rugby Rankings after beating Scotland, while England have leapfrogged the Scots into fifth place for the second weekend running.
According to the latest World Rugby Rankings update, the Springboks added 0.02 points to move to 93.96 following their 42-28 win over Scotland at Loftus Versfeld, extending their gap over New Zealand (91.04) and Ireland (89.32) at the summit as the new Nations Championship heads into its third round. England’s 73-8 thrashing of Fiji earned Steve Borthwick’s side 0.84 points, enough to swap places with Scotland, who slipped to sixth on 84.09 after their defeat to the world champions, PlanetRugby reports.
The reshuffle leaves Gregor Townsend’s side needing a response when they close out their summer block against Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday, a match Scotland head into already without Kyle Steyn. TheSouthAfrican.com notes Argentina were also among the weekend’s big movers, closing to within 0.03 points of Scotland in seventh after their win over Wales.
Ospreys And Sharks Also Make Headlines
In Wales, Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley is stepping down after two and a half years in the role, the region has confirmed. Bradley leaves months before Ospreys move into a redeveloped St Helen’s, a switch he oversaw after guiding the club through what he called “an incredibly challenging” fight for its survival; a successor will be announced in due course.
South Africa’s rankings dominance is being built from strength in depth, with Rassie Erasmus naming four uncapped debutants in his Springboks squad to face Wales in Durban this weekend as he continues to widen his pool ahead of the Nations Championship run-in.
In the Currie Cup, Sharks XV head coach Mike Vowles has named Tim Swiel at fly-half and 21-year-old Thomas Dyer as captain for Friday’s opening match away to the Pumas at Mbombela Stadium, SA Rugby magazine reports, with the promotion of academy products central to the competition’s development brief this season.
