In keeping alive their hopes of a first Grand Slam since 1948 with a 22-15 victory against Scotland at Murrayfield, Ireland have also risen to fourth in the IRB World Rankings, their highest position for nearly two years.
The Edinburgh win helped Declan Kidney’s Ireland side leap above both Wales and Argentina – the Pumas fall to sixth because of Wales’ win in Italy – to become the northern Hemisphere’s top-ranked side in the world list.
It is a timely boost for the Irish management and squad ahead of next Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations title decider against Wales at the Millennium Stadium.
While Wales’ success in Italy has consolidated their position at number five, England’s convincing victory over France at Twickenham on Sunday has taken them above the French into seventh place. France fall to eighth.
IRB WORLD RANKINGS (As of Monday, March 16):
1(1) NEW ZEALAND 92.68 rating points
2(2) SOUTH AFRICA 89.45
3(3) AUSTRALIA 85.86
4(6) IRELAND 81.98
5(5) WALES 81.88
6(4) ARGENTINA 81.56
7(8) ENGLAND 80.80
8(7) FRANCE 79.02
9(9) SCOTLAND 75.39
10(10) FIJI 75.24
11(11) SAMOA 72.57
12(12) ITALY 72.15
13(13) TONGA 70.05
14(14) GEORGIA 69.66
15(15) CANADA 69.12
16(16) JAPAN 68.05
17(17) RUSSIA 66.91
18(18) ROMANIA 66.15
19(19) USA 63.55
20(20) URUGUAY 62.78
* Last week’s positions in brackets
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