The All Blacks have climbed above France to second place in the world rankings after their impressive Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies on Saturday.
Their 38-7 victory saw them retain the Rugby Championship title and also lock away the Bledisloe Cup for another year as they build World Cup momentum.
Head coach Ian Foster will be delighted with how they are tracking ahead of the global tournament, with their latest win taking them above hosts Les Bleus.
Up to second place
There is still chance for them to go into the Rugby World Cup as the number one ranked side but they would need to continue to impress at Ireland’s expense.
For now though they can be thrilled with second spot as the six-try win over the Wallabies saw them gain 0.45 points to jump above Fabien Galthie’s outfit.
Tries from Shannon Frizell, Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Caleb Clarke, Mark Telea and Rieko Ioane saw New Zealand to victory at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
That means they now have 90.77 rating points compared to Les Bleus’ 90.47, with Ireland’s lead at the top of the rankings being reduced to just 1.05 points.
Despite the disappointing defeat, Australia hang on to eighth place in the rankings, but with a trip to Dunedin up next before facing France, they could drop.
Elsewhere, South Africa remain in fourth after they held off Argentina 22-21 in a physical game at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in the Rugby Championship.
Eben Etzebeth, Damien de Allende and Manie Libbok crossed for them while Mateo Carreras and Gonzalo Bertranou went over for late tries for Los Pumas.
Fiji up three spots
Meanwhile, Fiji have shot up three places following their 33-19 victory over Samoa in Apia that shifts them above their opponent, Japan and Georgia to 10th.
Tevita Ikanivere (2), Iosefo Masi and Selesitino Ravutaumada crossed the whitewash with Caleb Muntz slotting five from seven attempts off the kicking tee.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Nations Cup, Japan’s 21-16 victory over Tonga did not change either nation’s ranking place as they stay in 12th and 15th respectively.
Scotland also see no change to their World Rugby ranking position of fifth, despite their 25-13 victory over Italy that saw Darcy Graham get over for two tries.
World Rugby men’s rankings
1(1) Ireland 91.82
2(3) New Zealand 90.77
3(2) France 90.47
4(4) South Africa 88.36
5(5) Scotland 82.77
6(6) England 82.12
7(7) Argentina 81.47
8(8) Australia 79.87
9(9) Wales 78.08
10(13) Fiji 76.86
11(11) Georgia 76.23
12(12) Japan 76.13
13(10) Samoa 75.95
14(14) Italy 74.63
15(15) Tonga 70.53
16(16) Portugal 67.62
17(17) Uruguay 66.41
18(18) USA 65.92
19(19) Romania 65.85
20(20) Spain 64.05
READ MORE: Rugby Championship: Two Cents Rugby picks his top five players from Round Three
The article All Blacks up to second in World Rugby rankings while Fiji climb three spots as they break into top 10 appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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