Latest World Rankings: New Zealand’s one-week reign at the top comes to an end
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New Zealand’s one-week reign at the top of the World Rugby Men’s Rankings is over after they were beaten for the first time in this year's Rugby Championship in Robina on Saturday.
Elton Jantjies nailed a last-gasp penalty in a thrilling 31-29 win over New Zealand to deny the All Blacks a Grand Slam at the Rugby Championship.
South Africa’s victory – their first against the All Blacks when behind at half-time since 1998 – earned them 0.86 of a rating point and they now have a slender 0.16-point lead over their nearest challengers in the rankings.
Meanwhile, Australia’s 32-17 win over Argentina in the first match of the day at the Cbus Super Stadium came with a similar reward, and with the All Blacks losing, the gap between the trans-Tasman rivals is now down to 3.98 points.
A hat-trick from in-form Andrew Kellaway saw Australia close out their Rugby Championship campaign with a victory. Kellaway moved onto seven tries for the 2021 tournament in a one-sided contest on the Gold Coast as the Wallabies followed up last week's 27-8 win in style.
USA's 19-16 win over Uruguay and Canada's 22-21 win over Chile led to any movement in the rankings but the Eagles are now just over one-and-a-half points better off than Uruguay in 16th place.
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