Wallabies eye out second spot
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:07
A Tri-Nations victory over South Africa this Saturday, will see Australia climb above the world champions and into second place in the International Rugby Board (IRB) world rankings.
South Africa will have to bounce back from the disappointment of last weekend's Tri-Nations loss to New Zealand if they are to avoid another fall in the IRB world rankings.
The world champions surrendered their number one ranking to New Zealand on the back of the 19-0 loss in Cape Town - the first time South Africa have been shutout in the history of the Tri-Nations - and now sit only 1.7 points above Australia.
A ninth successive victory over Australia on home soil will not see them regain that number one position, although depending on the winning margin South Africa could improve their rating points by between five and eight tenths.
That would still leave South Africa more than two points adrift of New Zealand in top spot, while even a defeat of 15 points or more would leave Australia with a two point advantage over Argentina beneath them in fourth.
However, were Australia to win in South Africa for the first time since their 19-18 triumph in Durban back on August 26, 2000, then they will return to second place in the rankings for the first time since they lost to England in the quarterfinals at Rugby World Cup (RWC) last year.
A repeat of Australia's 16-9 victory in their most recent encounter with South Africa in Perth last month could improve their rating points to 87.75 points, while a more convincing margin could add another seven or eight tenths to that tally and open a slight cushion between the sides.
South Africa, who have not been ranked as low as three since their semifinal defeat of Argentina at last year's RWC, could see their rating points total fall beneath 86 points with another heavy loss.
Even then, though, they would still have a two-point plus cushion over the fourth-placed Pumas.
With thanks to irb.com
