England climb to fifth as record Fiji rout reshuffles World Rugby Men's Rankings

England’s record 73-8 victory over Fiji has lifted them to fifth in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, swapping places with Scotland, who drop to sixth after their 42-28 defeat to South Africa. The updated standings take effect at 12pm BST on Monday.

The result ends a weekend in which England had faced the prospect of falling to a 20-year rankings low. Scotland’s loss to the Springboks proved the decisive factor in the swap, with the two sides now separated by just 0.66 points — England on 84.75, Scotland on 84.09.

World number one South Africa extended their lead over New Zealand at the top to 2.92 points after their win over Scotland nudged their score up by two-hundredths of a point to 93.96. New Zealand and Ireland, ranked second and third, earned no additional points from their respective wins over Italy and Japan.

France are the biggest movers inside the top ten, their 42-26 win over Australia earning them an extra 0.68 points and bringing them closer to the top three at 87.43. Argentina also improved their position after overcoming a slow start to beat Wales 35-21, adding 0.29 points to sit seventh. Wales lose an identical amount and drop below Japan to 12th.

The most dramatic shift in the rankings comes further down the table, where Spain’s 32-19 win over Tonga in the World Rugby Nations Cup sends Los Leones surging four places to 16th. Uruguay, Chile, Samoa and Tonga each slip back one position as a result.

In the Nations Cup itself, Georgia and Chile lead Pools A and B respectively after two rounds, with European nations enjoying a strong weekend across the competition.