World Rugby will remove the home weighting component from both the men's and women's rankings from July 1, 2026, marking the first significant change to the points calculation system since the men's rankings launched in October 2003.
Under the current system, the home team receives an additional three rating points for calculation purposes — a mechanism designed to neutralise home advantage. World Rugby says the change reflects the growing number of Tests played at neutral venues, where applying that weighting actually disadvantages the designated home team rather than levelling the field.
"The international competition landscape has changed significantly in recent years and many tournaments are now played in centralised or out of country locations for strategic, commercial or financial reasons," World Rugby said in a statement.
The governing body estimates approximately 20 matches across international competitions will take place at neutral venues before the end of 2026. Among them is the Springboks vs All Blacks clash in Baltimore — the final instalment of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series — as well as Fiji playing all three of their home Nations Championship fixtures in the United Kingdom, Japan hosting Ireland in Australia, and Tonga running Nations Cup matches in the USA and Canada.
The men's rankings as of June 19 have South Africa leading on 93.94, with New Zealand second on 90.33 and Ireland third on 89.07. The Springbok women sit tenth on 71.62 in a women's standings headed by England on 98.09.