Latest World Rankings: Les Bleus on the rise
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France, Georgia and Portugal all climb the World Rugby Men's Rankings following this weekend's matches in the Six Nations and Rugby Europe Championship.
France have moved above Australia and into sixth place in the World Rugby Men's Rankings – their highest position since June 2017 – after defeating England 24-17 at the Stade de France on Sunday.
For the first time since 1988, England were held scoreless at the interval in a Championship match and looked a pale shadow of the side that reached the Rugby World Cup 2019 final only a few months ago.
Led by the irrepressible Charles Ollivon, France dominated England from the off and led 24-0 in the 55th minute thanks to two tries from their openside flanker and one from winger Vincent Rattez.
Jonny May's brilliance saw England regain some pride as the winger raced home for two spectacular tries and Eddie Jones men left with the consolation of a losing bonus point when Owen Farrell slotted a penalty from in front of the posts in the last act of the game.
France's victory at a rain-swept Stade de France was worth a fraction under one-and-a-half rating points and boosts their overall total to 82.37 points. England, meanwhile, stay in third place behind world champions South Africa and New Zealand.
The opening match of the Six Nations, a 42-0 win for Wales over Italy, did not have any impact on the rankings due to the large points differential between the teams, but it did get Wayne Pivac's competitive debut as head coach off to a flying start.
It was the first time Wales had held a team scoreless in this Championship since 1974, and it proved a comfortable introduction for the former Scarlets coach.
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Ireland gained 0.17 of a point from their win over Scotland but that was not enough for them to catch Wales in fourth place in the rankings. Scotland stay in ninth, just outside to top two bands of seeds for the Rugby World Cup 2023 draw in November.
In the Rugby Europe Championship 2020, two-time defending champions Georgia overcame a slow start to beat Romania 41-13. The bonus-point victory lifts them above Tonga and up to 13th place in the rankings.
Despite the defeat, Romania's cushion over their nearest rivals in the rankings, Russia, increased to more than four points after the Bears were beaten by rampant Spain.
Spain pick up 1.19 points for their victory over Russia as they move ever closer to achieving a historic high of 15th place in the rankings. Russia manage to hang on to their position in the world's top 20.
Portugal marked their return to the Rugby Europe Championship after a four-year absence with a hard-fought 23-17 win at home to Belgium, a result that could go a long way towards securing their place at this level for another year.
Portugal move above Canada and Namibia into 22nd place in the rankings, while Belgium remain in 27th.
ICYMI: Here is our #GuinnessSixNations Team of the Week 👇
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) February 3, 2020
VIA: World Rugby
