Cape Town - So troubled have recent times been for the once-feared All Blacks that they face the very real possibility of plummeting to SIXTH spot in the World Rugby standings when the next round of rankings are released.

Reeling on the back of a 47-26 thrashing at the hands of the Wallabies in Perth last Saturday, the All Blacks have just seven days to turn a 21-point defeat into a victory.

Failing that, the All Blacks will not only relinquish the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in 17 years, but will also tumble to fourth in the world - at best.

While a defeat of between 1-15 points will see New Zealand drop to fourth, a 16-point loss (or worse) will see them ranked sixth.

While rankings don't decide World Cup winners, they do send a clear signal of the enormity of the task Steve Hansen's men face in defending the Webb Ellis Cup, particular as so many other sides are finding form at the perfect time.

A home win for Wales (by any points margin) over England on Saturday will see them (the Welsh) assume the No 1 spot regardless of the result at Eden Park in Auckland.

A 16-point (or more) victory for England will see Eddie Jones' men take over the top ranking.

The Springboks v Argentina 'Farewell Test' in Pretoria will have no bearing on the top spot, nor will the France v Scotland showdown.

4th or 6th. It would be a pretty unusual RWC to make a final from that position.

These rankings has got PR all fired up for sure

Not as unusual as you might think as long as you are talking about the distance from P1 rather than the exact number...

England were ranked 7th at the end September 2007 and SA were third
France were ranked 5th at the end Sept 2011
Australia were ranked 5th at the end Sept 2015

4th or 6th. It would be a pretty unusual RWC to make a final from that position.

Let's be honest for a moment.
Can anyone really see New Zealand battling to beat Argentina, then drawing to the Boks, then losing to Australia............and then losing to Australia AGAIN in Auckland?

It is just not going to happen.

The rankings are a better measure of a country's performance than the World Cup. It reflects how team is performing in test matches over a number of years rather than a short knockout tournament that can be decided on injuries and referee decisions.

There seems to be a strong NH focus on this irrelevant set of numbers

Here, use this, it's just as meaningful

http://numbergenerator.org/randomnumbergenerator/1-100

Let's be honest for a moment.
Can anyone really see New Zealand battling to beat Argentina, then drawing to the Boks, then losing to Australia............and then losing to Australia AGAIN in Auckland?

It is just not going to happen.

Things come in and out of fashion. Between 1991 and late 2011 certainly, rankings weren’t in vogue for many. For some reason they are again now and by the end of the year, who knows.

TBF, the ranking positions in and of themselves aren't very interesting or hugely relevant. Whats interesting is how closely the top teams have become in the ranking points that drastic changes in position can happen.

TBF, the ranking positions in and of themselves aren't very interesting or hugely relevant. Whats interesting is how closely the top teams have become in the ranking points that drastic changes in position can happen.

A home win for Wales (by any points margin) over England on Saturday will see them (the Welsh) assume the No 1 spot regardless of the result at Eden Park.

Let's be honest for a moment.
Can anyone really see New Zealand battling to beat Argentina, then drawing to the Boks, then losing to Australia............and then losing to Australia AGAIN in Auckland?

It is just not going to happen.

So NZ could fall behind Wales even if they thrash OZ this weekend? Good. I can't imagine anything would get the ABs more motivated than falling a few notches down the totem pole, especially if that puts them behind a team they haven't lost to in 66 years*.

Andy Hayden you cheating cnut.

And even if this happens (4th or 6th) you'd still be RWC favorites imo.

Let's be honest for a moment.
Can anyone really see New Zealand battling to beat Argentina, then drawing to the Boks, then losing to Australia............and then losing to Australia AGAIN in Auckland?

It is just not going to happen.

If Australia win at Eden park on the weekend South Africa become world cup Favourites for me

So to be clear, your argument is that we can’t possibly lose this one because we were already thrashed by this team last week and we also have terrible recent form against other teams?

Yeah that’s some special logic.

I certainly didn't see Australia putting 47 on the ABs.

Stranger things have happened.

What be even funnier is winning a World cup being the sixth seed in the tourney.

Me too.

I’ve seen them as favourites all year. On paper they’re clearly the strongest squad.

I’ve seen them as favourites all year. On paper they’re clearly the strongest squad.

Only problem for Wales is they tend to choke when it comes to things like this

Never happen, World Rugby have too much to lose by the all blacks slipping from the top spot. Why do you think Wales lost to England?

Never happen, World Rugby have too much to lose by the all blacks slipping from the top spot. Why do you think Wales lost to England?

Cape Town - The Springboks have moved past England into fourth spot on the official World Rugby rankings. This follows South Africa's 24-18 win over Argentina in Pretoria on Saturday and England's 13-6 defeat to Wales in Cardiff. The Welsh, who have won 15 of their last 16 Tests, have moved past the All Blacks into top spot for the first time. New Zealand beat Australia 36-0 in Auckland to retain the Bledisloe Cup but it was not enough for them to relinquish top spot for the first time since November 2009.

Elsewhere, France moved past Scotland into seventh spot after beating them 27-10 in Paris.
Top 20 in the latest World Rugby rankings:
1. Wales 89.43
2. New Zealand 89.40
3. Ireland 88.69
4. South Africa 86.83
5. England 86.79
6. Australia 84.05
7. France 80.58
8. Scotland 79.01
9. Japan 77.21
10. Fiji 76.98