After the July internationals, the All Blacks have made up plenty of ground on the Springboks in the world rugby rankings, with just 0.72 points separating the arch-rivals.
As the Springboks now head towards their Rugby Championship title, there will be a number of goals they will want to achieve, but the importance of maintaining prime position in the rankings should not be underestimated.
Scheduled for December, the 2027 World Cup draw will be based on the World Rugby Men’s Rankings at the end of the November international window, and so the Springboks will be desperately hoping to still be at the top by that stage.
You can see exactly how the rankings are calculated by clicking here.
TOP 20 IN THE LATEST WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS AS SPRINGBOKS JUST HANG ONTO TOP SPOT
As at 24 July 2025
| Rank | Country | Points |
| 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 |
LATEST SA SQUAD:
Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Vincent Koch (Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls).
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Manie Libbok (Hanazono Kintetsu Liners), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (Stormers), Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Sharks), Damian Willemse (Stormers).
Do you pay much attention to the World Rugby rankings?
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