The Springboks remain the top-ranked team in the world with a rating of 93.96 following their 17-10 Rugby Championship victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires, preserving their position ahead of the four-Test Greatest Rivalry Series against New Zealand.
The result was hard-earned — the match was level at 10-all at half-time — with tries from Cameron Hanekom and Edwill van der Merwe ultimately separating the sides. South Africa neither gained nor lost ranking points from the contest, while Argentina stay seventh on 83.13.
New Zealand remain second on 92.28, with Ireland (88.08) and France (87.43) holding third and fourth respectively.
Elsewhere in the weekend's action, Australia edged Japan 35-32 in Osaka in Les Kiss's first match in charge, earning 0.48 rating points to move to 82.09 in eighth — not enough to overtake Argentina but sufficient to push Japan down two places to 12th on 75.94. Wales are the incidental beneficiaries, returning to the top 10 for the first time since July 2024, climbing to 10th on 76.38.