Boks look to maintain edge over All Blacks in high-stakes rankings weekend

After superbly defeating France in Paris last weekend with 14 men to increase their lead at the top of the rankings likst, South Africa have named a much-changed outfit for Saturday's clash against Italy.

While it's a typically calculated risk on Rassie's part, the Boks could lose their World No 1 ranking if results don't go their way.

Gonzalo Quesada's men got the better of the Wallabies last weekend and will look to take the scalp of another southern hemisphere giant.

Should the Boks slip up against the Azzurri, they will lose at least two rankings points, which would put them behind the All Blacks heading into the game at Twickenham later on Saturday.

Of course, Scott Robertson's men would still have to do the job and defeat an England side on a nine-match winning streak, but any sort of result in London would be enough to move ahead of South Africa if Erasmus' men lose.

Even if the Boks win, New Zealand can close the gap to 0.25 with a victory by more than 15 points at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

As for Steve Borthwick's side, they are unable to move above the All Blacks, even with a dominant triumph, but they can go into third ahead of Ireland with any sort of win.

That is because the Irish cannot earn any points for their game against the Wallabies due to Australia's current tally and the fact that it takes place in Dublin.

It could be a big weekend for Joe Schmidt's men, who are in a battle for sixth, which would make them one of the top seeds for the Rugby World Cup.

A victory would put Australia right back in contention and could even see them leap above Argentina in the standings, depending on what Los Pumas do against Scotland.

With the World Cup draw looming at the start of next month, it is another significant round of internationals with the Scots in eighth and Fiji in ninth, who take on a frustrated France, also looking to make a late surge for the top six.

Les Bleus look relatively safe in fifth at the moment, but a shock loss to the Pacific Islanders would put their position under significant threat ahead of the match with the Wallabies next weekend.