The Springboks will go into the World Cup as the second-ranked team as World Rugby’s rankings received a major shake-up after the final round of warm-ups.
Seven of the top 10 teams find themselves in different positions in the World Rugby Rankings after the final round of Rugby World Cup warm-ups produced some eye-catching results.
Only top-ranked Ireland, fifth-placed Scotland and World No. 10 Wales have kept their places from the previous weekend.
Twickenham Stadium was the scene of not one but two momentous matches less than 24 hours apart as the All Blacks suffered the worst defeat in their history on Friday night to South Africa, before Fiji stunned England on Saturday.
The Springboks’ win has seen them climb into second place, having started the warm-up phase below the All Blacks and France in fourth.
South Africa are now just 0.74 points adrift as Ireland’s nearest challengers following their 35-7 win.
France, who defeated Australia 41-17, have also moved up a place to third, with the All Blacks dropping to fourth.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s win has had major implications, as England have dropped down to eighth, with the Pacific Islanders (seventh) and Argentina (sixth) both rising in the rankings.
The only time England have been as low as this before was in the aftermath of the 2015 World Cup when they became the first host nation to be knocked out in the pool stage.
After suffering their fifth consecutive defeat, Australia have also matched their previous lowest position with the Wallabies dropping down a place to ninth.
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