Latest World Rugby Rankings Reflect Chaotic Year Going Into World Cup Draw

As the 2025 Autumn Nations and autumn internationals come to a close, the calendar flips to December and the Springboks remain on top of the World Rugby Rankings with just a few days until the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw.

South Africa’s impressive 73-0 win over Wales on Saturday didn’t change much, with the bands locked heading into the weekend.

After another year of play, just one team from the top 10 held the same spot that they began 2025 with—Italy in 10th. England surged from 7th to 3rd, marking the largest improvement of the year.

Ireland, France, and Argentina each dropped one position to make room for Borthwick’s squad and round out the top band.

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Latest World Rugby Rankings On Dec. 1, 2025

See the official rankings on World.Rugby here.

South Africa – 93.94New Zealand – 90.33England – 89.41Ireland – 87.97France – 87.24Argentina – 84.97Australia – 81.53Fiji – 81.14Scotland – 80.22Italy – 78.98Wales – 74.23Japan – 74.09Georgia – 73.18Uruguay – 69.19Spain – 69.01USA – 68.26Chile – 66.72Tonga – 66.66Samoa – 66.42Portugal – 64.98How The Rugby World Rankings Work

Read the full explanation on World.Rugby here.

Calculation

Men’s and Women’s World Rugby Rankings are calculated using a ‘Points Exchange’ system, where sides gain or lose points based on the match result. 

Other criteria include the relative strength of each team, the margin of victory and an allowance for home advantage.

Member Unions

All member countries have a rating, typically between 0 and 100. The top side in the world normally will have a rating above 90. Any match that is not a full international between two member countries does not count at all.

RWC Ranking

Points are doubled during the World Cup Finals to recognize the importance of this event, but all other international matches, friendly or competitive, are treated the same across the world.

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