Congratulations to Ireland for being in first place in the World Rugby rankings for the first time since their World Cup quarterfinal loss to New Zealand in Paris a year ago.
So dominant are the Irish that they managed this achievement without setting foot on a rugby pitch or leaving the Emerald Isle. Or even participating in the 2024 Rugby Championship, featuring southern hemisphere nations SA, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, and won by the Springboks with a crushing victory over the Pumas in Mbombela on Saturday.
The vagaries of World Rugby’s ranking system aside — Ireland leapfrogged SA into first place by default two weekends ago when the Springboks lost by a point to Argentina in Santiago del Estero, yet stayed at the top despite the Boks beating the same opposition 48-7 on Saturday — the reality is that the jury is still out on whether SA or Ireland are the best team in the world at present.
They drew the two-Test series in SA earlier in the year, but Ireland beat the Boks in the pool stages of the World Cup. And while the All Blacks knocked Ireland out of the World Cup, SA has now beaten New Zealand four times in a row.
Perhaps the November northern hemisphere internationals will be decisive, with SA taking on Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland squaring up to New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia. We wouldn’t bet on it though.
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