Wales up to second in World Rugby rankings

by Frank Nickson Monday 28 September 2015

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has seen his team rise to second in rugby union's official world rankings

©PA

Wales have climbed to their highest world ranking position of second following Saturday's gripping victory over England at Twickenham.

The latest rankings list released by World Rugby also shows a drop of three places for England from third to sixth.

Wales' dramatic 28-25 World Cup Pool A win against England puts them firmly on course for the quarter-finals.

If Warren Gatland's men beat Millennium Stadium opponents Fiji on Thursday - then Australia defeat England at Twickenham two days later - England will crash out of the tournament.

Wales have moved up two places behind long-time leaders New Zealand, with Australia third, Ireland fourth, South Africa fifth and England sixth.

Scotland, meanwhile, are up from 12th to ninth on the back of a strong World Cup start that saw them sweep aside Japan and the United States in bonus point fashion.

Latest World Rugby rankings: 1 New Zealand 92.89, 2 Wales 87.31, 3 Australia 86.75, 4 Ireland 84.40, 5 South Africa 82.66, 6 England 82.35, 7 France 81.12, 8 Argentina 79.66, 9 Scotland 79.05, 10 Fiji 76.96.