Ireland have lost second place to New Zealand in the world rankings after their 42-27 home defeat to France in the Six Nations, but the damage could have been worse.
Until replacement No8 Jack Conan celebrated his 50th cap with a try at the death and Sam Prendergast knocked over the conversion, Ireland were staring at a two-place fall to fourth.
The margin of defeat is one factor that World Rugby uses to determine how big an impact particular results will have on the rankings, and a defeat of more than 15 points would have seen them drop below Les Bleus, who remain in fourth place, as well as the All Blacks.
Ireland would have lost 2.48 points had Prendergast failed with his conversion attempt. Instead, their rating was reduced by 1.65 points to 89.71, which leaves them two-tenths of a point better off than Les Bleus.
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When World Rugby officially update the rankings at noon on Monday (GMT), Ireland will be outside of the world’s top two for only the second time since the end of the 2023 World Cup. Ireland spent one week in third when they were beaten for the first time at home in 20 matches by the All Blacks at the start of the Autumn Nations Series.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s 35-29 win over Wales at Murrayfield in the second of Saturday’s matches did not affect the rankings, with the home team remaining in seventh on 82.36 points and Wales 11th on 73.75 points.
The final match of the penultimate round between England and Italy at Allianz Stadium will have little impact on the rankings unless the Azzurri create history and win for the first time in the fixture at the 32nd attempt.
For Italy to improve on 10th, they would not only have to beat England for the first time but also by a margin of more than 15 points
