World Rugby Rankings
The complete men's and women's World Rugby rankings, with every ranked union, weekly movers, and a straight explanation of how the rating points actually work.
As of 21 September 2026, South Africa lead the World Rugby Men's Rankings on 95.09 rating points, ahead of New Zealand on 91.15 and Ireland on 88.08.
Japan are the biggest movers of the latest update, climbing 3 places from 12 to 9 on 77.28 points. England lead the World Rugby Women's Rankings on 97.26 points, ahead of New Zealand on 91.90. The men's list covers 114 unions and the women's list 70, and both are updated by World Rugby every Monday during a Test window.
Men's World Rugby Rankings
| Pos | Move | Team | Points | Change | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | South AfricaRSA | 95.09 | 0.00 | 1 |
| 2 | – | New ZealandNZL | 91.15 | 0.00 | 2 |
| 3 | – | IrelandIRE | 88.08 | 0.00 | 3 |
| 4 | – | FranceFRA | 87.43 | 0.00 | 4 |
| 5 | – | EnglandENG | 85.68 | 0.00 | 5 |
| 6 | – | ScotlandSCO | 84.78 | 0.00 | 6 |
| 7 | – | AustraliaAUS | 83.55 | 0.00 | 7 |
| 8 | – | ArgentinaARG | 82.24 | 0.00 | 8 |
| 9 | +3 | JapanJPN | 77.28 | +1.19 | 12 |
| 10 | −1 | FijiFIJ | 76.81 | −1.19 | 9 |
| 11 | −1 | WalesWAL | 76.38 | 0.00 | 10 |
| 12 | −1 | ItalyITA | 76.30 | 0.00 | 11 |
| 13 | – | GeorgiaGEO | 73.94 | 0.00 | 13 |
| 14 | +1 | PortugalPOR | 69.39 | 0.00 | 15 |
| 15 | −1 | USAUSA | 67.58 | −1.91 | 14 |
| 16 | – | ChileCHI | 66.94 | 0.00 | 16 |
| 17 | – | SpainESP | 66.83 | 0.00 | 17 |
| 18 | – | UruguayURU | 65.75 | 0.00 | 18 |
| 19 | – | TongaTGA | 65.14 | 0.00 | 19 |
| 20 | – | SamoaSAM | 64.73 | 0.00 | 20 |
| 21 | – | RomaniaROU | 62.45 | 0.00 | 21 |
| 22 | +2 | CanadaCAN | 62.29 | +1.91 | 24 |
| 23 | −1 | BelgiumBEL | 61.03 | 0.00 | 22 |
| 24 | −1 | Hong Kong ChinaHKG | 60.74 | 0.00 | 23 |
| 25 | – | ZimbabweZIM | 57.68 | 0.00 | 25 |
| 26 | – | NamibiaNAM | 56.96 | 0.00 | 26 |
| 27 | – | NetherlandsNED | 56.44 | 0.00 | 27 |
| 28 | – | SwitzerlandSUI | 55.47 | 0.00 | 28 |
| 29 | – | CzechiaCZE | 54.78 | 0.00 | 29 |
| 30 | – | PolandPOL | 54.54 | 0.00 | 30 |
| 31 | – | ParaguayPAR | 52.15 | 0.00 | 31 |
| 32 | – | RussiaRUS | 52.06 | 0.00 | 32 |
| 33 | – | BrazilBRA | 51.50 | 0.00 | 33 |
| 34 | – | SwedenSWE | 51.11 | 0.00 | 34 |
| 35 | – | GermanyGER | 50.92 | 0.00 | 35 |
| 36 | – | KenyaKEN | 50.09 | 0.00 | 36 |
| 37 | – | MexicoMEX | 49.97 | 0.00 | 37 |
| 38 | – | KoreaKOR | 49.29 | 0.00 | 38 |
| 39 | – | MoroccoMAR | 47.54 | 0.00 | 39 |
| 40 | – | United Arab EmiratesUAE | 47.45 | 0.00 | 40 |
| 41 | – | ColombiaCOL | 47.11 | 0.00 | 41 |
| 42 | – | Cayman IslandsCAY | 46.52 | 0.00 | 42 |
| 43 | – | PhilippinesPHI | 46.35 | 0.00 | 43 |
| 44 | – | MaltaMLT | 45.83 | 0.00 | 44 |
| 45 | – | AlgeriaALG | 45.82 | 0.00 | 45 |
| 46 | – | MadagascarMAD | 45.76 | 0.00 | 46 |
| 47 | – | SenegalSEN | 45.72 | 0.00 | 47 |
| 48 | – | TunisiaTUN | 45.56 | 0.00 | 48 |
| 49 | – | Sri LankaSRI | 45.53 | 0.00 | 49 |
| 50 | – | UgandaUGA | 45.12 | 0.00 | 50 |
| 51 | – | UkraineUKR | 44.99 | 0.00 | 51 |
| 52 | – | Trinidad & TobagoTTO | 44.27 | 0.00 | 52 |
| 53 | – | LuxembourgLUX | 43.09 | 0.00 | 53 |
| 54 | – | LithuaniaLTU | 43.02 | 0.00 | 54 |
| 55 | – | MalaysiaMAS | 42.93 | 0.00 | 55 |
| 56 | – | CroatiaCRO | 41.80 | 0.00 | 56 |
| 57 | – | MoldovaMDA | 41.11 | 0.00 | 57 |
| 58 | – | DenmarkDEN | 40.94 | 0.00 | 58 |
| 59 | – | KazakhstanKAZ | 40.49 | 0.00 | 59 |
| 60 | – | BarbadosBAR | 40.43 | 0.00 | 60 |
| 61 | – | Chinese TaipeiTPE | 40.27 | 0.00 | 61 |
| 62 | – | JamaicaJAM | 40.00 | 0.00 | 62 |
| 63 | – | IsraelISR | 39.97 | 0.00 | 63 |
| 64 | – | AustriaAUT | 39.74 | 0.00 | 64 |
| 65 | – | LatviaLAT | 39.63 | 0.00 | 65 |
| 66 | – | ZambiaZAM | 39.24 | 0.00 | 66 |
| 67 | – | Cook IslandsCOK | 39.11 | 0.00 | 67 |
| 68 | – | Cote D'IvoireCIV | 39.06 | 0.00 | 68 |
| 69 | – | SerbiaSRB | 38.69 | 0.00 | 69 |
| 70 | – | BermudaBER | 37.74 | 0.00 | 70 |
| 71 | – | ThailandTHA | 37.55 | 0.00 | 71 |
| 72 | – | SingaporeSGP | 37.30 | 0.00 | 72 |
| 73 | – | BulgariaBUL | 37.26 | 0.00 | 73 |
| 74 | – | GuyanaGUY | 36.85 | 0.00 | 74 |
| 75 | – | NigeriaNGR | 36.82 | 0.00 | 75 |
| 76 | – | VenezuelaVEN | 36.78 | 0.00 | 76 |
| 77 | – | FinlandFIN | 36.35 | 0.00 | 77 |
| 78 | – | BotswanaBOT | 36.21 | 0.00 | 78 |
| 79 | – | AndorraAND | 35.15 | 0.00 | 79 |
| 80 | – | PeruPER | 35.05 | 0.00 | 80 |
| 81 | – | GhanaGHA | 34.38 | 0.00 | 81 |
| 82 | – | SloveniaSLO | 34.19 | 0.00 | 82 |
| 83 | – | St Vincent and the GrenadinesVIN | 33.62 | 0.00 | 83 |
| 84 | – | TurkeyTUR | 32.15 | 0.00 | 84 |
| 85 | – | IndiaIND | 31.83 | 0.00 | 85 |
| 86 | – | HungaryHUN | 31.29 | 0.00 | 86 |
| 87 | – | Burkina FasoBUR | 31.05 | 0.00 | 87 |
| 88 | – | GuamGUM | 30.51 | 0.00 | 88 |
| 89 | – | LesothoLES | 30.46 | 0.00 | 89 |
| 90 | – | IranIRI | 30.00 | 0.00 | 90 |
| 91 | – | Costa RicaCRC | 29.75 | 0.00 | 91 |
| 92 | – | ChinaCHN | 28.91 | 0.00 | 92 |
| 93 | – | Bosnia & HerzegovinaBIH | 28.36 | 0.00 | 93 |
| 94 | – | Papua New GuineaPNG | 27.68 | 0.00 | 94 |
| 95 | – | St LuciaLCA | 27.58 | 0.00 | 95 |
| 96 | – | BahamasBAH | 27.46 | 0.00 | 96 |
| 97 | – | EswatiniSWZ | 25.58 | 0.00 | 97 |
| 98 | – | QatarQAT | 25.31 | 0.00 | 98 |
| 99 | – | UzbekistanUZB | 25.28 | 0.00 | 99 |
| 100 | – | MauritiusMRI | 24.56 | 0.00 | 100 |
| 101 | – | NorwayNOR | 24.50 | 0.00 | 101 |
| 102 | – | PakistanPAK | 24.13 | 0.00 | 102 |
| 103 | – | NepalNEP | 24.00 | 0.00 | 103 |
| 104 | – | RwandaRWA | 23.78 | 0.00 | 104 |
| 105 | – | LaosLAO | 23.38 | 0.00 | 105 |
| 106 | – | CameroonCMR | 23.12 | 0.00 | 106 |
| 107 | – | Niue IslandNIU | 22.63 | 0.00 | 107 |
| 108 | – | BurundiBDI | 20.16 | 0.00 | 108 |
| 109 | – | Solomon IslandsSOL | 17.97 | 0.00 | 109 |
| 110 | – | IndonesiaINA | 15.95 | 0.00 | 110 |
| 111 | – | MonacoMON | 11.17 | 0.00 | 111 |
| 112 | – | GreeceGRE | 10.55 | 0.00 | 112 |
| 113 | – | VanuatuVAN | 9.29 | 0.00 | 113 |
| 114 | – | American SamoaASA | 7.53 | 0.00 | 114 |
Women's World Rugby Rankings
| Pos | Move | Team | Points | Change | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | EnglandENG | 97.26 | −0.83 | 1 |
| 2 | – | New ZealandNZL | 91.90 | 0.00 | 2 |
| 3 | – | CanadaCAN | 90.61 | +0.83 | 3 |
| 4 | – | FranceFRA | 84.29 | 0.00 | 4 |
| 5 | – | IrelandIRE | 77.23 | −1.46 | 5 |
| 6 | +2 | USAUSA | 75.51 | +1.46 | 8 |
| 7 | −1 | ItalyITA | 75.29 | +0.50 | 6 |
| 8 | −1 | ScotlandSCO | 74.40 | 0.00 | 7 |
| 9 | – | AustraliaAUS | 74.03 | 0.00 | 9 |
| 10 | – | South AfricaRSA | 69.87 | −2.59 | 10 |
| 11 | +2 | WalesWAL | 67.80 | +2.59 | 13 |
| 12 | −1 | JapanJPN | 67.63 | −0.50 | 11 |
| 13 | −1 | FijiFIJ | 66.44 | +0.18 | 12 |
| 14 | – | SpainESP | 63.54 | +0.68 | 14 |
| 15 | – | NetherlandsNED | 58.49 | 0.00 | 15 |
| 16 | – | Hong Kong ChinaHKG | 57.30 | −0.18 | 16 |
| 17 | – | SamoaSAM | 56.72 | −0.68 | 17 |
| 18 | – | RussiaRUS | 55.10 | 0.00 | 18 |
| 19 | – | KazakhstanKAZ | 53.95 | 0.00 | 19 |
| 20 | – | GermanyGER | 51.10 | 0.00 | 20 |
| 21 | – | KenyaKEN | 50.68 | 0.00 | 21 |
| 22 | – | SwedenSWE | 47.78 | 0.00 | 22 |
| 23 | – | BelgiumBEL | 47.68 | 0.00 | 23 |
| 24 | – | PortugalPOR | 47.29 | 0.00 | 24 |
| 25 | – | BrazilBRA | 45.96 | 0.00 | 25 |
| 26 | – | UgandaUGA | 44.13 | 0.00 | 26 |
| 27 | – | GeorgiaGEO | 43.88 | 0.00 | 27 |
| 28 | – | TongaTGA | 43.53 | 0.00 | 28 |
| 29 | – | MexicoMEX | 43.34 | 0.00 | 29 |
| 30 | – | ChinaCHN | 43.34 | 0.00 | 30 |
| 31 | – | ColombiaCOL | 42.96 | 0.00 | 31 |
| 32 | – | AndorraAND | 42.71 | 0.00 | 32 |
| 33 | – | Trinidad & TobagoTTO | 42.16 | 0.00 | 33 |
| 34 | – | TunisiaTUN | 41.76 | 0.00 | 34 |
| 35 | – | FinlandFIN | 41.23 | 0.00 | 35 |
| 36 | – | MadagascarMAD | 40.89 | 0.00 | 36 |
| 37 | – | CameroonCMR | 40.70 | 0.00 | 37 |
| 38 | – | AustriaAUT | 40.56 | 0.00 | 38 |
| 39 | – | LatviaLAT | 39.11 | 0.00 | 39 |
| 40 | – | MalaysiaMAS | 39.11 | 0.00 | 40 |
| 41 | – | MoroccoMAR | 39.08 | 0.00 | 41 |
| 42 | – | JamaicaJAM | 38.84 | 0.00 | 42 |
| 43 | – | CroatiaCRO | 38.19 | 0.00 | 43 |
| 44 | – | CzechiaCZE | 38.01 | 0.00 | 44 |
| 45 | – | RomaniaROU | 37.93 | 0.00 | 45 |
| 46 | – | DenmarkDEN | 36.62 | 0.00 | 46 |
| 47 | – | BulgariaBUL | 36.23 | 0.00 | 47 |
| 48 | – | Papua New GuineaPNG | 35.41 | 0.00 | 48 |
| 49 | – | SingaporeSGP | 35.28 | 0.00 | 49 |
| 50 | – | NorwayNOR | 34.79 | 0.00 | 50 |
| 51 | – | ZambiaZAM | 33.95 | 0.00 | 51 |
| 52 | – | GuyanaGUY | 33.63 | 0.00 | 52 |
| 53 | – | SenegalSEN | 33.16 | 0.00 | 53 |
| 54 | – | ZimbabweZIM | 32.71 | 0.00 | 54 |
| 55 | – | Bosnia & HerzegovinaBIH | 32.00 | 0.00 | 55 |
| 56 | – | IndiaIND | 31.60 | 0.00 | 56 |
| 57 | – | ThailandTHA | 30.35 | 0.00 | 57 |
| 58 | – | Cote D'IvoireCIV | 29.85 | 0.00 | 58 |
| 59 | – | SwitzerlandSUI | 29.46 | 0.00 | 59 |
| 60 | – | UzbekistanUZB | 29.40 | 0.00 | 60 |
| 61 | – | Burkina FasoBUR | 29.32 | 0.00 | 61 |
| 62 | – | Cayman IslandsCAY | 28.95 | 0.00 | 62 |
| 63 | – | BotswanaBOT | 27.30 | 0.00 | 63 |
| 64 | – | LuxembourgLUX | 26.83 | 0.00 | 64 |
| 65 | – | PhilippinesPHI | 26.83 | 0.00 | 65 |
| 66 | – | NamibiaNAM | 26.14 | 0.00 | 66 |
| 67 | – | SerbiaSRB | 25.79 | 0.00 | 67 |
| 68 | – | BarbadosBAR | 24.06 | 0.00 | 68 |
| 69 | – | St Vincent and the GrenadinesVIN | 22.71 | 0.00 | 69 |
| 70 | – | BahamasBAH | 21.67 | 0.00 | 70 |
Biggest Movers
Who gained and who lost ground in the World Rugby update published on 21 September 2026.
Men's movers
How the World Rugby Rankings work
Every Test match moves rating points from one union to the other. Nothing is awarded from a central pool, no result is worth a fixed number of points, and since 1 July 2026 it no longer matters where the match is played.
The Points Exchange: every Test is zero-sum
The World Rugby Rankings run on a Points Exchange. Teams do not accumulate points from a central pot — they take them off each other. Whatever one side gains in a Test, the other side loses, to the decimal place. The total number of rating points in the system never changes.
How much changes hands depends on the gap between the two ratings before kick-off. Beat a side rated well above you and you take a lot; beat a side rated well below you and you take very little, because you were expected to win. That is why a No.1 side can win comfortably and barely move, while a mid-table union can win one Test and jump several places.
Every union is rated on a scale that runs from 0 to 100 in theory but in practice sits between about 10 and 98. The world No.1 is normally above 90: South Africa were on 95.09 as of 21 September 2026.
Margin of victory, and why the scoreline matters less than you think
Winning is what moves a rating. The margin only adjusts the size of the move. Win by more than 15 points and the exchange is multiplied by 1.5; win by 15 or fewer and it is not. There is no sliding scale beyond that threshold, so a 40-point hammering and a 16-point win are treated identically.
There is also a ceiling on how far a single result can shift a rating, which stops one freak scoreline from distorting the table. A shock 60-point win does not vault a team up the list — it moves them the same amount a 16-point win would have, multiplied and then capped.
Rugby World Cup matches are the exception that goes the other way: exchanges at a World Cup are doubled, which is why ratings move further in six weeks of a World Cup than in two years of ordinary Test rugby.
Home advantage no longer counts — that changed on 1 July 2026
There is no home weighting in the World Rugby Rankings any more. World Rugby removed it with effect from 1 July 2026, having announced the change on 18 June 2026.
Until then, the calculation treated the home side as three rating points stronger than their actual rating. The purpose was to cancel out the advantage of playing at home, and the practical effect was that winning away was worth more than winning at home. Since 1 July 2026 both sides are taken at their true rating wherever the match is played.
World Rugby put the change down to an evolving international competition landscape: more and more Tests are played at neutral or centralised venues, and the old rule penalised unions who were nominally at home in someone else's stadium. The practical consequence for readers is that home and away results now move the table by exactly the same amount.
This one is worth stating plainly because World Rugby's own explainer page still describes the three-point home weighting as though it applies. It does not, and has not since 1 July 2026.
You cannot gain rating by losing
A heroic defeat is worth nothing. There is no bonus for keeping a Test close, no credit for a strong second half, and no mechanism by which a losing side finishes the weekend with more rating points than it started with. Losing costs you points; the only question is how many.
Drawn Tests do exchange points. If two sides are rated differently, a draw moves rating from the higher-rated team to the lower-rated one, because the higher-rated side underperformed the expected result. Two evenly-rated sides drawing exchange almost nothing.
How unions enter the list, and what happens when they stop playing
A new full member union enters the rankings on a rating of 30 points. It then rises or falls from there like anyone else — there is no probationary period and no separate scale.
Teams that stop playing Test rugby eventually drop off the published list, but their rating is not deleted. If a dormant union returns, it resumes at the rating it held when it stopped, rather than being reset. That is why a nation can reappear in the table at a position that looks disconnected from anything it has done recently.
How the women's rankings were seeded differently
The women's rankings use the same Points Exchange as the men's. What differs is the starting line, because the women's Test game has a much shorter and more staggered history.
Rather than dropping every union in at the same figure, World Rugby back-dated a baseline to 1987 and set every team at 80 points from that year, then deducted 2 points for each year that passed before a union played its first Test. The deduction is floored at 40, so any union whose first Test came after 2007 started on 40 rather than dropping lower.
Nearly four decades of results later, those starting positions have largely washed out. England topped the women's list on 97.26 as of 21 September 2026.
A worked example, using the latest update
Here is the exchange from the most recent update, in real numbers. Canada gained 1.91 rating points and USA lost exactly the same 1.91, in the list published on 21 September 2026. Not approximately the same — the same, because the points came out of one union and went into the other.
Canada went from 60.37 to 62.29. USA went from 69.49 to 67.58.
The exchange was small because the result was close to what the ratings predicted: the two sides went in 9.12 rating points apart, with Canada the higher-rated. A narrow win over a lower-rated side is worth very little. It was still enough to shift the table — USA fell from 14 to 15.
Rankings data: World Rugby. The explanation above is our own.
World Rugby Rankings FAQs
Who is the current world No.1 in rugby?
South Africa are the No.1 men's side on 95.09 rating points, and England are the No.1 women's side on 97.26, both as of the World Rugby update published on 21 September 2026.
The men's and women's rankings are separate lists with separate leaders — there is no combined world No.1.
How often are the World Rugby rankings updated?
World Rugby republishes both rankings every Monday during a Test window, reflecting the matches played over the preceding weekend. In weeks with no international rugby the list is simply carried over unchanged.
The figures on this page come from the update dated 21 September 2026, and this page refetches the feed every six hours so it never lags behind an update.
How are World Rugby ranking points calculated?
Points are transferred between the two teams in a Test rather than awarded from a pool. The size of the transfer is set by the gap between the two ratings before kick-off, so beating a much better side is worth far more than beating a much weaker one, and the winner's gain always equals the loser's loss.
Two multipliers apply on top: a win by more than 15 points is multiplied by 1.5, and any match at a Rugby World Cup is doubled. A cap limits how much a single result can move a rating.
Does home advantage still count in the rugby rankings?
No. World Rugby removed the home weighting from the rankings calculation with effect from 1 July 2026.
Before that date the home side was treated as three rating points stronger than their actual rating, which had the effect of making away wins more valuable than home wins. Since 1 July 2026 the venue makes no difference to the calculation at all.
Do the rankings decide Rugby World Cup pools and seedings?
Yes — the rankings are what World Rugby uses to band teams for the Rugby World Cup pool draw. Teams are split into bands based on their ranking on a cut-off date set well in advance of the draw, and one team is drawn from each band into each pool.
That is why a single Test in the months before a draw cut-off can matter far more than its result suggests: dropping one place can move a union from one band to the next and change which giants they meet in the pool stage.
What is the highest rating a team has ever had?
The highest rating currently held by any side in either list is 97.26, by England, as of 21 September 2026. No team in the history of either ranking has reached the theoretical maximum of 100.
The scale is bounded in practice as well as in theory: because points can only be taken from opponents, a dominant side eventually runs out of higher-rated teams to take them from. Ratings in the mid-90s represent sustained dominance over several seasons, not a single good year.
How are the women's rankings different from the men's?
The calculation is identical — the same Points Exchange, the same 15-point margin multiplier, the same doubling at a World Cup. Only the starting ratings differed.
Every women's team was seeded from a 1987 baseline of 80 points, minus 2 points for each year before that union played its first Test, with a floor of 40 for any union debuting after 2007. The men's list has no equivalent back-dating.
The lists are also different sizes: 114 unions are ranked in the men's table and 70 in the women's.
Can a team gain ranking points in defeat?
No. There is no mechanism for gaining rating points from a loss, however narrow the defeat or however highly rated the opponent. Losing always costs rating points; a close loss to a strong side simply costs fewer of them.
A draw is different: if the two sides are rated differently, the higher-rated team loses points to the lower-rated one, because a draw is worse than the expected result for the favourite.