Updated rugby rankings as England fall

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend celebrated his 100th Test match in charge this past weekend, and the 31-20 win over England was a perfect way to mark the occasion.

It was a result that also suddenly saw England slip to fourth in the World Rugby rankings, while ever-impressive France move up to third despite not being able to gain any points after thrashing Wales.

Scotland move up to ninth after proving once again to be a big bogey team for England at home, with Townsend’s team moving ahead of 10th-placed Italy in the rankings after the Azzurri let a half-time lead slip against Ireland before losing 20-13.

Updated rankings after Scotland stunned England again

Rank	Country	Points
1	South Africa	93.94
2	New Zealand	90.33
3	France	88.40
4	England	87.71
5	Ireland	86.81
6	Argentina	84.97
7	Australia	81.53
8	Fiji	81.14
9	Scotland	81.10
10	Italy	79.81
11	Wales	74.23
12	Japan	74.09
13	Georgia	73.18
14	Uruguay	69.19
15	Spain	69.01
16	USA	68.26
17	Chile	66.72
18	Tonga	66.66
19	Samoa	66.43
20	Portugal	64.98

Scotland celebrate

“I’m quite emotional,” coach Townsend admitted after the epic win in Edinburgh. “After 20 minutes, I thought that was some of the best rugby we’ve ever played. To see our players play with that ambition and accuracy… it’s all you want as a coach.

“There are so many games where you play well but the opposition come back and win. We’re pleased, but there’ll be another challenge next week. Three Test matches in a row: we’ve got to recover well and build on what we did today.”