What is the World Rugby rankings after Springboks beat Ireland?

The Springboks hung onto their top spot in the World Rugby rankings after a tense 27-20 win over number-two placed Ireland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Rassie Erasmus’s world champions picked up 0.31 points for their victory to extend their overall lead as Ireland lost a similar number of points.

The two sides will do battle for a second time at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, 13 July.

Kick-off is at 17:00.

Elsewhere, New Zealand picked up 0.32 points – and stayed third in the rankings – following their 16-15 home win over England who in turn lost 0.32 points, but stayed fifth.

Fourth-placed France picked up 0.58 points for their 28-13 away victory over Argentina, who lost 0.58 points, but remained in seventh place.

Australia moved up a place to eighth after their 25-16 home win over Wales who dropped outside the Top 10 to 11th spot. The Wallabies picked up 0.68 points, while Wales lost the same amount.

Meanwhile, Italy were the big losers after going down 33-25 to Samoa. The Italians lost 1.42 points and dropped from eighth to ninth, with Samoa moving up a place to 13th.

ALL THE WEEKEND’S FIXTURES AND RESULTS

FRIDAY, 5 JULY

Samoa 33-25 Italy

Georgia 12-21 Fiji

SATURDAY, 6 JULY

USA 20-22 Romania

New Zealand 16-15 England

Japan 26-14 Maori All Blacks

Australia 25-16 Wales

South Africa 27-20 Ireland

Argentina 13-28 France

Chile 22-17 Hong Kong

Canada 12-73 Scotland

LATEST WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS