South Africa retain number one place, New Zealand drop to third in World Rugby Rankings

South Africa have retained their number one place in the World Rugby Rankings following their historic triumph over New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final last weekend.

Hampered by a red card to Sam Cane, New Zealand went down with a 11-12 margin against the Springboks in a closely fought encounter that saw Handre Pollard kick four penalty goals in the opening half.

Beauden Barrett scored a second half try but the Boks held their nerve to complete what was their fourth World Cup title. The result saw the All Blacks drop to the third place in the rankings after they lost 1.76 rating points with Ireland reclaiming their second place.

The Boks now have 94.54 rating points as they consolidated their position at the top with a lead of 3.97 points over second placed Ireland.

Meanwhile, England finished third in the competition following their 26-23 win over Argentina riding on tries from Ben Earl and Theo Dan. They have retained their fifth place in the table but have narrowed down their gap with the fourth placed France to 2.35 points.

Argentina despite their defeat continue to remain at seventh place with 80.68 rating points.

World Rugby Top 10 Rankings:

Rank	Team	Rating Points
1	South Africa	94.54
2	Ireland	90.57
3	New Zealand	89.80
4	France	87.81
5	England	85.46
6	Scotland	83.43
7	Argentina	80.68
8	Wales	80.64
9	Australia	77.48
10	Fiji	76.38