Springboks face pressure to defend No 1 spot as Rugby Championship kicks off

The opening round of the tournament on Saturday sees South Africa host Australia at the iconic Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, with the later kick-off seeing Argentina host the All Blacks in Córdoba.

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw taking place after the November internationals later this year, the world rankings are particularly important for the respective nations in terms of seedings.

And the threat this weekend is clear - Rassie Erasmus' side could lose their top-ranking status if they suffer a defeat or settle for a draw against Australia in the opening game of their title defence.

A stalemate in Johannesburg would mean that the All Blacks would have to beat Argentina later in the day to return to the summit for the first time since November 2021. If the Wallabies claim an upset, then a draw will be enough for New Zealand to leapfrog the Springboks.

Third-placed Ireland are not in action this weekend but can still benefit from the opening round of the Rugby Championship results if there are upsets.

In the unlikely event that both South Africa and New Zealand lose by more than 15 points. If only one of these were to happen, Ireland would still climb a place to second above that beaten side.

A victory by any margin for the Boks will see them retain their number one ranking, despite the fact that the world champions are unable to improve their rating due to the 10.70 points difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in.

This is because New Zealand can only gain a maximum of 0.45 rating points for beating lower-ranked Argentina, and they currently trail South Africa by 0.72 points.

There are possible movements elsewhere in the rankings as Argentina will oust Australia from sixth place - which would be enough for a Band 1 place come the RWC 2027 draw in December - if Australia are beaten and they avoid defeat against New Zealand. A draw for Australia away to the world champions would have the same impact if Los Pumas are victorious over New Zealand for the first time on home soil.

Argentina cannot fall any lower than seventh this weekend, even with a heavy loss to New Zealand.

Latest World Rugby rankings

1 South Africa 92.78

2 New Zealand 92.06

3 Ireland 89.83

4 France 87.82

5 England 87.64

6 Australia 82.08

7 Argentina 82.05

8 Scotland 81.57

9 Fiji 80.50

10 Italy 77.77

11 Georgia 74.69

12 Wales 74.05

13 Samoa 72.48

14 Japan 72.29

15 Spain 69.12

16 USA 68.45

17 Uruguay 67.52

18 Portugal 66.44

19 Tonga 65.46

20 Chile 63.83