South Africa climbed up one place to fourth in the latest World Rugby Men’s Rankings released on Monday.

The 2019 Rugby Championship winners ran out 41-7 winners against 2019 Rugby World Cup hosts Japan at the Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Kumagaya, Saitama on Friday.

The Springboks trail only Ireland, New Zealand and England in the rankings.

Ireland, meanwhile, is the world’s number one rugby team for the first time since the introduction of the rankings in 2003.

The Irish are first with a total rating point of 89.47 while New Zealand, the defending world champions, lies second with 89.40 points.

This also means that the Irish, who defeated Wales 19-10 in Dublin on Saturday, head into the World Cup as the number one ranked side. New Zealand, meanwhile, beat Tonga 92-7 in Auckland.

This is the third time in five weeks that there has been a change at the top of the rankings.

Wales toppled New Zealand three weeks ago, ending the All Blacks nine-year reign atop the men’s rankings. However, the All Blacks regained their position last week with Ireland climbing up to second.

Wales (87.32 points) now lies in fifth place following consecutive losses to Ireland coupled with South Africa’s win against Japan.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup is set to be held in Japan between September 20 and November 2.

Source(s): World Rugby