Updated rankings after Springboks lose to France

The battle between the Springboks and France was always expected to be an epic encounter, and ultimately some ill-discipline and poor executions came back to haunt South Africa, while also impacting the World Rugby rankings.

In the first half, France scored three tries to one to take a 21-7 lead, and although the Springboks were far better in the second period, they ultimately couldn’t capitalise.

Withstanding immense pressure during the final stage of the clash, France ultimately held on for a 21-19 win, which has also had a huge impact on the rankings.

The defeat sees the Springboks lose 1.56 rankings points, which sees them drop to second in the rankings behind New Zealand.

In turn, Les Bleus gain 1.56 rankings points and jump into third place into third spot ahead of Ireland.

HOW THE RANKINGS LOOK After THE SPRINGBOK DEFEAT

Rank	Country	Points
1	New Zealand	92.65
2	Springboks	91.53
3	France	89.05
4	Ireland	88.70
5	England	86.99
6	Scotland	84.40
7	Australia	83.12
8	Argentina	81.62
9	Fiji	77.79
10	Wales	77.37
11	Italy	76.30
12	Japan	75.25
13	Georgia	73.94
14	Portugal	70.52
15	USA	67.80

match recap

The hosts had more possession and enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half, and their back-three of Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, Theo Attissogbe, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey all crossed for tries.

Their first two tries came while Lood de Jager was in the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle, with Maxime Lucu yellow carded for the same reason later in the half.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels scored the Boks’ only try in the opening half, while Kurt-Lee Arendse went over on the stroke of half-time, but he was adjudged to be offside at the lineout.

The Boks scored two tries in the second half while France failed to add any points to their tally, but the hosts did enough to seal their first win over South Africa in Paris since 2005.