Rugby News

In a result that may prove that the IRB rankings are completely useless, Ireland have climbed in the latest list, despite three defeats to the All Blacks.

Looking for some good news as an Irish rugby fan today? The first one is we don’t play again until the autumn. The second is that we have actually moved up in the IRB rankings. The lads in charge of the game worldwide now rank us as the seventh best nation in the world, up from eighth in the last list.

This is despite losing to New Zealand three times in the last two weeks, twice very heavily.

Argentina’s defeat to France is the reason why we move up, as the Pumas slide down to eighth spot from sixth. That position is vital as the seeding for the 2015 World Cup will be based on your IRB rank at the end of this year. Slip to ninth and you will have two excellent teams in your pool. Hang onto top eight status and it will be just one of the top four you have to face.

So that is good news for Ireland. It is good news for England too, as they move into that top four after drawing with the Springboks on Saturday. At the very top, no prizes for guessing New Zealand are the number one team, followed by Australia and the Springboks. France are fifth and Wales are sixth. Scotland, after three wins on their southern hemisphere tour, move into ninth, one away from that crucial eighth place.

Of course, the wisdom of handing out seedings three years before the tournament has to be questioned but there you go. Anyway, it means the autumn internationals are going to be very important for all the Six Nations teams, heaping yet more pressure on Declan Kidney.