France will top the world rankings for the first time in its history
France, who beat Japan 20-15 on Saturday in Tokyo, will become the world number one on Monday, the first since the rankings were created in 2003, according to estimates from World Rugby Organization, the governing body of world rugby.
Fabien Galtet’s men, who are unbeaten this season with 10 straight wins, also a first in France’s 15th history, will now overtake South Africa, former world No. 1, who was defeated by Wales on the wire (13-12).
If the World Champion Springboks had won, they would have remained at the top of the rankingsBut their defeat, along with their second win over the Blues in Japan and the All Blacks’ loss of less than 15 points against Ireland (23-12), allowed the French to overtake them in the next ranking to be published on Monday.
South Africa will even drop to third in the standings, overtaking Ireland, who signed a historic victory in New Zealand against the All Blacks on Saturday in Dunedin.
And so the New Zealanders fell from second to fourth place, The worst place for them since the creation of the rankings.
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