Wednesday, October 26, 2011

All Blacks stay top, Wales flop in rankings



New Zealand retained their place atop the IRB rankings after beating France in the World Cup final, while Wales dropped down two places.

The All Blacks have occupied top spot for 23 consecutive months, though their cushion at the top has been reduced after the latest rankings were released on Tuesday.

Graham Henry's side are top on 91.43 points, with bronze medal winners Australia second on 87.42 points.

France are third (84.70), followed by World Cup quarter-finalists South Africa (fourth, 84.34) and England (fifth, 81.58).

Wales (80.18) dropped from sixth to eighth despite an impressive World Cup campaign that saw them lose the third place play-off to the Wallabies.

Despite finishing lower than Wales at the tournament, Ireland (sixth, 80.65) and Argentina (seventh, 80.28) each climbed one place.

Tonga, who beat France 19-14 in their last match of the tournament, sit ninth on 76.63 points, while Scotland (10th, 76.20) completed the top 10.

Israel was the biggest mover in the latest rankings, moving up six places to 61st position.

No comments: