South Africa remain top of the World Rugby rankings on 93.09 points ahead of Round 5 of the Nations Championship, with the standings set for potential significant movement this week.
New Zealand sit second on 92.65 after picking up 0.38 points from Saturday's action, with Ireland third on 88.70. France hold fourth on 87.49, but England's 45-22 dismantling of Australia at Twickenham has closed that gap to just 0.50 points, with England now on 86.99.
The Boks' clash with France on Friday is the pivotal fixture in the rankings picture. Should France beat South Africa and New Zealand beat Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, the All Blacks would move to the top of the standings heading into the final round of pool matches. England, meanwhile, are likely to leapfrog France into fourth should the Boks win in Paris.
Australia dropped to seventh on 83.12 following their Twickenham loss, falling further behind Scotland, who slipped to sixth on 84.40 after their own defeat on Saturday. The Wallabies face Scotland at Murrayfield in their next Nations Championship fixture.
Current World Rugby Rankings:
- South Africa 93.09
- New Zealand 92.65 (+0.38)
- Ireland 88.70 (+0.63)
- France 87.49 (+0.06)
- England 86.99 (+1.31)
- Scotland 84.40 (-0.38)
- Australia 83.12 (-1.31)
- Argentina 81.62 (-0.63)
- Fiji 77.79 (-0.06)
- Wales 77.37 (+0.99)