Record defeat costs Fiji in World Rugby Men's rankings

Fiji have dropped below Australia and into 10th place in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings after their record 57-17 defeat to hosts Scotland in the opening round of the Autumn Nations Cup.

It was the most points Fiji have conceded and the largest margin of defeat in 10 test meetings with Scotland, for whom Darcy Graham marked his return to the international arena with four tries.

Scotland picked up 0.58 points for the win, their first at Murrayfield since they retained the Calcutta Cup, and remain in seventh but with less than a point now between themselves and Argentina.

The loss of 0.58 points in exchange was enough for Fiji's rating to dip below Australia's and their new total of 79.07 puts them in 10th.

Meanwhile, New Zealand gained 0.97 points for their 24-22 win over England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in the first match of this year's Autumn Nations Series.

The All Blacks are still third but with an improved rating of 89.67 points, while England keep hold of fifth place but with a reduced rating of 84.43 points.

Having narrowly failed to reach a record high of 31st last weekend, Sweden made sure this time around with a 46-19 win away to Lithuania in the 2024-25 Rugby Europe Men's Trophy taking them above Germany.

The only other game to affect the rankings was Belgium's 48-7 win over Switzerland, which gave the Swiss a realisation of the step up in level required when they make their Rugby Europe Championship debut next year.

Belgium have climbed three places to 27th as a result of the win and Switzerland have dropped two places to 28th.

Latvia's 62-0 home win against Estonia in the 2024-25 Rugby Europe Men's Conference did not count towards the rankings as Estonia are not full members of World Rugby.