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Everyone knows the Springboks' ranking was puffed up
By Ben Smith
South Africa has lost the world number one ranking for the first time since being crowned Rugby World Cup winners in 2023 after falling to Argentina by 29-28 in Santiago del Estero.
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Their 11-month reign at the top featured a drawn 1-1 series at home to Ireland before wins over Portugal and doubles over Australia and New Zealand.
As the saying goes, heavy is the head that wears the crown. But this specific crown has plenty of air pumped underneath to prop it up as long as possible which South Africa has benefitted from.
Under the World Rugby ranking system the Rugby World Cup knockout fixtures receive special treatment, with wins earning double points to juice the eventual champion.
Before the 2019 run, South Africa were ranked fifth in the world. But a month later after beating Namibia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Wales and England on the way to the title they powered their way into the world number one ranking.
Had ‘double points’ not been on offer through the knockouts, they would likely have not reached number one based on beating those opponents and certainly would not have built such a cushion between the others.
Their 94.20 points were specially frozen during 2020 when they opted to turn down playing while others played. After resuming play in 2021, they held onto the top spot for 11 months before too many losses piled up. A bad run of three straight losses to Australia and New Zealand caused too much damage.
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They regained the ranking heading into 2022 but during that year’s Rugby Championship they were overtaken by Ireland for good up until the next World Cup.
A similar story is playing out in 2024, with South Africa ranked fourth before the 2023 tournament before getting double points for one point wins over France, England and a 14-man New Zealand side.
The impact of the inflated ranking is ongoing, with past results playing a weighted factor in the exchange system and taking up to two years to flush out. That they have lost the top spot already is quite remarkable, but without a sustained run of winning is inevitable.
In 2022 we saw France go through the calendar year unbeaten after a Grand Slam Six Nations title and wins over Japan, Australia and South Africa in November. From July 2021 to February 2023 they put 14 consecutive Tests win together before being stopped by Ireland.
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Ireland themselves went on a run of 17 consecutive Test wins after their loss to New Zealand in the first Test of the 2022 July series, ending at the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup.
That kind of sustained excellence has escaped the back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners who often squeak by on fine margins. South Africa’s longest winning run since 2018 when Erasmus took over is six in a row, occurring twice.
The second run came after the pool stage lost to Ireland last year until their loss to Ireland at home in the second Test in Durban, a run which we know featured a number of one point wins.
Outside of that there are short spurts of winning before succumbing to defeat, even going through slumps with multiple losses in a row.
Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
South Africa
5
4
1
0
19
2
Argentina
5
3
2
0
14
3
New Zealand
5
2
3
0
11
4
Australia
5
1
4
0
5
The 2024 season was shaping up as the most consistent since the start of the Erasmus/Nienaber era. They had just one loss and were on a streak of five in a row before slipping up to Argentina. Both the losses this year have been just by one point.
Yet if we are to discount the closeness of these two losses as bad luck or misfortune, then all three knockout wins won by one point last year have to be qualified as good luck. It goes both ways.
Certainly Jordie Barrett missing a go-ahead penalty with three minutes remaining was a massive slice of good luck for the Springboks, and the gift-of-all-gifts, an opposition red card in the first half played a huge role.
A view from one side of the coin says Jordie Barrett’s miss spared the Springboks the ultimate humiliation; losing a World Cup final with a one man advantage. A healthy dose of humility should come with that realisation.
If Barrett’s kick was two metres to the right, there is no tyre pump for South Africa’s ranking and the entire narrative arc for the Springboks this year is different. All of the sudden they aren’t in the ‘greatest ever’ discussion. The mediocre results up to 2023 aren’t glossed over.
While they are finally having a good year and will likely win the Rugby Championship, the most puzzling of all the narratives recently is that somehow South Africa have cleared Ireland.
When and where did this happen? Certainly not in July when they lost at home to them. The Springboks have won one of the last five against the Irish and just two of those games were on Irish soil. They lost in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to Andy Farrell’s side.
Ireland still own the Springboks until further notice. It takes sustained winning over a rival to proclaim one’s superiority.
South Africa have the recent ledger over New Zealand and over Australia, but not Ireland. In fact, it’s the opposite. And the world rankings (finally) reflect that, at least for the next week.
Don’t cry now that the rankings can’t hold up the hot balloon, they are what pumped the air into it in the first place.
Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)
Hey all I finally had the idea to start a online petition to put a stop to this guys unprofessional bias writing. https://chng.it/CnGd4kQz6C
Why are the Irish the worst lovers? Can't even get a semi.
🤣
We are waaaaay better than SA though. Those farm animals don't give you much feedback I guess?
Rugby should use the UFC system.
You’re #1 until someone beats you, then they’re #1 and so on.
That doesn't reward consistency.
Boks not being No.1 works in our favour. As long as we stay in top 4. Hardly any daylight between the teams. Feel sorry for Ben being an if man all the time
Was that the 2022 series which we won in NZ?
If Irelands best players are from NZ why didn't they/don't they play for the ABs?
Who's Goodson-Park, by the way? When did we get him? Under 20s? Breakthrough schools player?
And yet, even a broken watch will tell the correct time, twice a day.
You got this, Tommy boy!
Bennie boy, I see the psychological damage that you’ve endured by the Boks winning everything is taking its toll now HA HA HA
You lost by 30 pts in Eden Park in 2022.
Even if it was your national sports, your best players aren't from Ireland, they're from NZ🤣. James Lowe, Jamison Goodson-Park, Bundee Aki.
One point wins are a win at the end of the day, we defeated 3 of the best of the best with a point each just to prove a point and our supremacy as kings (aka Champions) of rugby 🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🔥🇿🇦 Go Bokke
Suddenly you don't like 1 PT wins!!!!!!! Hilarious.
It's the mark of a bonded, skilled team when the syringe boks nick a single point win.
It's pure luck though when others do it? You're an absolute mong.
You forgot the silverware we've already won this year. We're 5/7 this year with a very tasty November ahead.
Christ, you couldn't love those boks even if you birthed them. Utterly horrid. Stick to your 10 man game.
This year you've had a 1 point (pure luck at the 79th minute) win over the springboks and a decisive 7 point loss to the springboks and stop lying as Ireland have never reached a world cup semi final before (only the quarter finals 8 times to be exact) but with zero to show for it(not even a medal for 3rd place) but anyway 🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🔥🇿🇦 Go Bokke🤣🤣🤣
What Ben is trying to say here is that all RWC champs rankings was juiced at one point. It just so happens that the Bokke's ranking has been juiced the most. (4 times) followed by NZ at a close second. Last time I checked the ranking structure applied to everyone.
NZ were no1 for 80% since RWCs began. They had a 24 year RWC drought in that period. Consistent excellence not inflation of points explains it.
Unquestionably. Total dominance. Just solely in RWCs. Test rugby has existed for 150 years.
The closest Ireland have gotten to a RWC semi is still 1991 where they lost by a point to the eventual champions, Australia. Interestingly the only time they've been beaten in the quarters by the eventual winners of the tournament. Also the match was in Dublin. The only time they've had home advantage.
We've won our last 3 against Australia and last 2 against the ABs in new Zealand. Also our last 2 against them in Dublin. We've taken a scalp on each of our last 2 tours to SA.
Ireland toured SA this summer. Unbeaten series. Toured NZ in 2022. Unbeaten series. Toured Australia in 2018. Unbeaten series. 3 tours against holders of 9 world cups! Explain that one?
We also knocked England over 4 times in a row when they were RWC champions between 2003-2007.
What does it all mean? Just imagine if rugby was our national sport and we'd more than 120 professional players.
Both the Springboks and the All blacks have won at least one of their titles by a margin of 1 point each....with South Africa in 2023 and New Zealand in 2011 so with that said i congratulate both England and Australia for winning their titles with a greater margin of victory but the bottom line remains that both the Springboks and the All blacks dominate the global rugby stage with the southern hemisphere dominance over northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere has at least 7 world titles to back up this claim.
Get in the habit of beating them, then!
You can win a RWC by just beating 3 tier 1 nations across 6/7 weeks. It is what it is. A one-off competition contested every 4 years.
Most top teams play 10-12 tests per calender year. That's allot of rugby year in year out. 30 tests minimum outside of a world cup.
You owe Wayne Barnes a few beers for the last final. Silver platter or not.
We can back up our Webb Ellis titles(of which we earned on merit and not given on a silver platter) because we have defeated the best of the best in the finals(the match that matters most above all other matches) in the history of the rugby sport, both of our opponents have the rights to claim to be champions as they have won the first title before which is way more than what I can say for the current world number 1 who have zero to show for it in " THE COMPETITION THAT MATTERS MOST" but surprisingly and excellently so have a 100% losing record at semi finals of the "MOST IMPORTANT TOURNAMENT OF THEM ALL" but anyway 🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🔥🇿🇦 Go Bokke🤣🤣🤣
Not at all, Thomas.
The 21st century brought just our second ever win against the boks. From then until now, Ireland have won 9 of those 14 meetings. Wining home, away and neutral. It's wonderful. If it's meaningless to you, then what's the point in holding a Webb Ellis trophy if they can't back it up? Why do Ireland have their number? In world cups and outside of world cups.
You mention "asses" allot. Which, I assure you, is fine. Is there something you want to share with us though?
You've ran out of talking points hence you resort to urine samples but🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🔥🇿🇦 burns in Irish asses everytime you think about it doesn't it?🤣🤣🤣
There is an easy explanation to Benno's bleating and hatred towards the bokke. His ex was a saffa bokkie who broke his little heart. Sorry Benjy, you tofs cant handle our woman.
Ben's rambling might at times be entertaining in a special way, but his take on the Boks using the Covid-Lockdown to keep their No.1 position is a slap in the face of the many victims and is asking for an apology .... the Boks under Rassie are leading by example and if the ordinary people have to suffer the inconvenience of a lockdown, their rugby side is not asking for exceptions - I am pretty certain, none of the players was happy about the situation and none had the (in that situation rather meaningless) WR-ranking in mind .....
So them excluding themselves wasn't because they threw their toys out of the cot after NZ said they would have their own internal SR Aotearoa comp?
As I recall it, the simple reasoning was that it was decided it wasn't in their players best mental health to undergo the required 2 weeks lockdown either side of entering the country. Something the other participants had no problem doing.
What a daft cunt this bloke is.
NZ can't seem to beat the Boks now he's suddenly favouring the Irish over the Boks.
Plz Ben get a fucking grip in yourself. You are embarrassing. We all know Ireland and the Boks are 1 and 2 in the world & WHO GIVES A CRAP about the rankings. NOBODY cares how many week or months you are number 1 IF YOU DONT WIN THE WORLD CUP.
The practical significance of the changes in rankings is that Argentina are now in 6th position and in the group of first seeds for the RWC 2027 draw. If they stay there they avoid IRE/SA/NZ/FRA/ENG in their group and at least until the Quarter finals should they win their group. Beating Scotland in Edinburgh in November takes on extra significance.