After Scotland defeated England 29-23 in the opening round of the Six Nations on Saturday – their third successive Calcutta Cup win – they have climbed the world rankings.
The latest World Rugby standings have been published, with Scotland being the biggest climber from the first tier-one Test weekend of 2023.
Joint all-time high
Duhan van der Merwe scored twice for Scotland to seal the six-point victory and second place on the Six Nations table after Round One.
Further tries from Huw Jones and Ben White ensured the Calcutta Cup remained in their possession for at least another year.
The victory also saw them move into fifth place on the world rankings, earning 1.51 points for the win at Twickenham.
It was a two-place jump for Gregor Townsend’s side, with Australia now moving down to seventh and England to sixth.
Fifth is Scotland’s joint highest ranking, having reached the position in 2018 when they finished in the top half of the Six Nations table.
Ireland on top
Elsewhere, Ireland increased their lead over France at the rankings’ summit, adding seven hundredths of a point.
Andy Farrell’s side secured their first win over Wales in Cardiff since 2013 and, in doing so, increased their rating to 90.70.
France did not pick up additional points for beating Italy 29-24 in Rome due to the gap between the two nations in the rankings.
Wales remain in ninth, but the comprehensive defeat on home soil means they now have just a 0.63-point buffer over 10th-placed Japan.
There were no changes in the rankings from the Rugby Europe Championship, with Georgia, Portugal and Romania all securing big victories over Germany, Belgium and Poland, respectively.
Spain were given a run for their money by the Netherlands, but they held out for a 28-20 win which had no impact on their 16th-place ranking.
Latest World Rugby Rankings (as of 06/02/2023)
1. Ireland 90.70
2. France 90.01
3. New Zealand 88.98
4. South Africa 88.97
5. Scotland 83.06
6. England 82.15
7. Australia 81.80
8. Argentina 80.72
9. Wales 78.02
10. Japan 77.39
11. Samoa 76.03
12. Italy 75.95
13. Georgia 75.19
14. Fiji 74.84
15. Tonga 71.21
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