Australia may have been second in the tournament, come fourth on the rank of improvers on World Ranking Points (WRP) during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Australia lost a lot of ground in the final, losing 2.42 WRP as well as the world title. Nevertheless, they had accumulated enough in the bank to end up +2.66 WRP, fourth best on the list of those who gained and lost, and are still ranked second in the world.
The most improved side is Japan who, following their remarkable efforts winning over South Africa, USA and Samoa, gained 4.98 WRP and gained three spots in the World Rankings. Second in this statistic was Argentina with 4.20, and then New Zealand third with a gain of 3.21.
The big losers are England, spanked for 5.27 WRP and Ranked 20th on the improvers List. This adds to the big humbling experience for the hosts at the 2015 tournament, after they failed to get out of their pool. England also dropped four spots on the World Ranking list, from fourth to 8th over the course of their games.
Second worst was Samoa, losing 4.77 WRP and dropping three points on the World Ranking list. Samoa started second in the seeds in their group, but failed against Japan, Scotland and South Africa in their pool matches. In a bad tournament for the Pacific Island nations, Tonga were third worst dropping 4.10 WRP.
The biggest Northern Hemisphere improver was Italy who didn’t even get out of their pool, but lost no ground to high flyers France and Ireland, but won against Romania and Canada, gaining 2.21 WRP
The table below desrcibes gains and losses per country in terms of World Ranking Points and positions.
World Ranking Points Improvers
Updated: 31 Oct, 2015
| Ranking | Team | Current | EOT-SOT | IR+/- | R+/- |
| 1 | New Zealand | 96.1 | 3.21 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Australia | 89.33 | 2.66 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | South Africa | 87.67 | 2.52 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Wales | 83.49 | -1.14 | 13 | 1 |
| 5 | Ireland | 81.17 | -3.23 | 17 | 1 |
| 6 | Argentina | 82.59 | 4.2 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | France | 79.77 | -1.35 | 14 | 0 |
| 8 | England | 79.77 | -5.27 | 20 | -4 |
| 9 | Scotland | 77.94 | 2.06 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | Japan | 77.05 | 4.98 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Fiji | 76.96 | -0.07 | 11 | -2 |
| 12 | Italy | 72.74 | 2.21 | 6 | 2 |
| 13 | Tonga | 71.6 | -4.1 | 18 | -2 |
| 14 | Georgia | 71.45 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 15 | Samoa | 70.36 | -4.77 | 19 | -3 |
| 16 | USA | 68.66 | -1.7 | 15 | -1 |
| 17 | Romania | 66.59 | 0.31 | 9 | 0 |
| 18 | Canada | 62.65 | -2.52 | 16 | 0 |
| 19 | Uruguay | 62.11 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 20 | Namibia | 61.75 | -0.1 | 12 | 0 |
Legend
Current Post RWC World Ranking Points (WRP)
EOT-SOT Difference between the End of the Tournament WRP and those at the start.
IR+/- Improvement Ranking, rating the Teams on EOT-SOT
R+/- Ranking gain, noting the movement in World Ranking number, up or down
Gavin Melville
Roar Pro
Alright I get your point My bad sort
cuw
Guest
1. New Zealand – 96.10 2. Australia – 89.33 3. South Africa – 87.66 4. Wales – 83.49 5. Argentina – 82.59 6. Ireland – 81.17 7. France – 79.77 8. England – 79.77
Gavin Melville
Roar Pro
No, I don't think so, Cuw Ireland went into the tourney with 84.40 WRP they went up to 85.74 with a victory over France but lost a whopping 4.58 WRP by getting a paddlin' from Argentina Down to 81.17 Double points and a big win at the World Cup can make for big swings
RobC
Roar Guru
I believe Cheika: - had the shortest runway for this RWC - He inherited a team in total disarray - WB had an abysmal number of losses in 2014 - This year, WB lost only 2 (I think) of all the games in 2015. - Its a pretty remarkable turnaround of form - Whilst AB lost only 1, but Shag had more more prep time. Having said that, I wouldnt complain of Shag got the pin.
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks Gan. Cool! So next year WBs will be -2!
cuw
Guest
is there a mistake in the points given to ireland?
Jacko
Guest
So is anyone able to explain to me why Cheika was named coach of the year????? Japan, Argentina and New Zealand improved their rankings points by more than Australia did and he won nothing. A strange one that decision.