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How accurate are the world rugby rankings?

17th March, 2015
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Is Michael Cheika on his last legs as Wallabies coach? (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
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17th March, 2015
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When the first rugby world rankings were released on September 8, 2003, England had the honour of being the inaugural number one team.

(1) England
(2) Wallabies
(3) All Blacks
(4) France
(5) Springboks
(6) Ireland
(7) Wales
(8) Argentina
(9) Scotland
(10) Italy

That was just a month before the 2003 Rugby World Cup kicked off in Australia, so on the point of accuracy, the original rankings were spot on.

» View the current World Rugby Rankings

England, under coach Clive Woodward and skipper Martin Johnson, thoroughly deserved the recognition, having won the Six Nations Grand Slam for the first time in eight seasons, and beating the All Blacks 15-13 on New Zealand soil for only the second time, the first a 16-10 win in 1973.

England went one better by beating the Wallabies 25-14 for the first time on Australian soil on their way to an national record 14-match winning streak.

The Rugby World Cup was the proof.

England beat the Wallabies 20-17 in the final in extra time, thanks to what is still one of the most talked about drop goals in the history of the game, coming off Jonny Wilkinson’s boot.

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The All Blacks beat France 40-13 in the play-off for third, completing the accuracy rankings count – England (1), Wallabies (2), All Blacks (3), and France (4).

Of the original top 10, Argentina and Italy failed to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup quarters.

The Pumas finished third in their pool behind the Wallabies and Ireland, and ahead of Romania and Namibia. Italy also finished third in their pool behind the All Blacks and Wales, and ahead of Canada and Tonga.

The All Blacks’ third in the original rankings is to this day the worst ranking they have ever ‘suffered’. To make amends, the men in black have been number one for most of the time since 2003, and been top dog in every rankings period since 2009.

The Springboks have been the only other country to be ranked number one, during various periods between 2007 and 2009.

This week, the latest world rankings were released.

(1) All Blacks
(2) Springboks
(3) Ireland
(4) England
(5) Wales
(6) Wallabies
(7) France
(8) Argentina
(9) Samoa
(10) Scotland

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Heaven forbid those rankings aren’t as accurate as the 2003 edition, or the Wallabies will finish third behind England and Wales in the ‘pool of death’ and won’t qualify for the quarters.

But sixth is still the poorest ranking ever for the Wallabies, so there’s a wake-up call that should do the trick when the Rugby Championship, and Bledisloe Cup, kicks off in July with three games against the All Blacks, and two each – home and away – against the Boks and the Pumas.

After a heavy schedule Super Rugby tournament, there are just seven internationals in the lead-up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, then there’s no room for hiccups.

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