Ireland Could be No.1 in World by the end of the Weekend

Ireland could head into their first November test fixture against Italy as the number one ranked side in the world but they will need a favour from the Wallabies do to so.

This weekend the All Blacks and Wallabies will face off at the Nissan Stadium, the venue of next year's Rugby World Cup final, in the last Bledisloe Cup clash of the year.

For Australia, valuable rating points are also on the line with a positive result guaranteed to lift them away from their current all-time low of seventh in the World Rugby Rankings.

A draw or a narrow win would be enough to take Australia above South Africa and Scotland into fifth place, while a winning margin of more than 15 points would lift the Wallabies up a further place to fourth, on 85.86 points.

Such an outcome would also result in New Zealand losing top spot to Ireland, a position they have held since 16 November 2009.

If the Wallabies do manage to beat the All Blacks, but not by 15 points, Ireland will have the opportunity to claim top spot if they are able to beat the All Blacks when the two sides face off in Dublin on 17 November.

Quick stat

Australia have only led twice at half-time in the nine tests they have played so far in 2018