South Africa head into the inaugural Nations Championship sitting 3.61 points clear of New Zealand at the top of the World Rugby rankings, with 93.94 points to the All Blacks' 90.33.
Ireland sit third on 89.07, ranking above Six Nations champions France despite Les Bleus' title win earlier this year. France's 87.46 puts them 1.61 points behind Ireland, and both sides face Australia, Japan and New Zealand during the July block.
Argentina hold fifth on 84.97, with England close behind on 83.91 heading into a Nations Championship campaign they'll be looking to use as a springboard back up the table after a difficult Six Nations. Scotland are seventh on 82.90, just a point adrift of England.
Australia, Fiji and Italy complete the top 10 on 81.53, 81.14 and 79.64 respectively. Wales sit 11th on 75.07, 4.57 points behind the Azzurri, with Japan (74.09) and Georgia (71.48) immediately below them.
World Rugby has also confirmed a structural change to the rankings system: the home weighting factor will be removed from both the men's and women's rankings with effect from 1 July 2026.