The final World Rugby rankings are set following the conclusion of the 2026 Six Nations, with Ireland ending the tournament as its highest-ranked nation.<\/p>\n
France may be back-to-back title champions but Andy Farrell\u2019s charges remain the third-ranked team behind the Springboks and All Blacks ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship.<\/p>\n
How the final weekend impacted the rankings<\/p>\n
France<\/a> emerged victorious in a thrilling 48-46 Six Nations<\/a> finale on Saturday evening, a win<\/a> that earned them 0.43 rating points. That was not enough to surpass Ireland, who earned 0.18 rating points for their 43-21 win over Scotland earlier in the day.<\/p>\n In fact, a victory of any kind was never going to be enough for France to rise above their fourth-place ranking that they started the weekend on. It\u2019s also worth noting that no additional rating points are awarded to teams for title wins like the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n Ireland<\/a> made the jump from fifth to third in the rankings with their Round Three victory over England and have remained in that position since. They hold a 1.61 point advantage over France.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, defeat for England, paired with Scotland\u2019s loss, means that Steve Borthwick\u2019s men stay in sixth-place \u2013 three positions down from where they began their campaign.<\/p>\n Wales finally claimed a victory in the Championship, ending a 15-game losing streak, as they romped to a 31-17 success. The win earned them 1.45 rating points, which was enough to see them move ahead of Japan into 11th place. However, Italy remained the 10th-ranked team in the world despite losing the same number of rating points. The Azzurri\u2019s buffer has been reduced to 4.57 rating points, though.<\/p>\n Georgia are still to play this weekend, as they face off against Portugal in the Rugby Europe Championship final on Sunday, but even if Lelos secure a comprehensive victory, it will not be enough for them to move ahead of Wales. However, a win by more than 15 points will result in a double drop for Japan, who would slip to 13th in the rankings behind Wales and Georgia respectively.<\/p>\n