NZ top, Wallabies second
10/25/2011 08:08:29 PM
New Zealand retained their place atop the IRB rankings after beating France in the World Cup final, while Australia remain in second place.
The All Blacks have occupied top spot for 23 consecutive months, though their cushion at the top has been reduced after the latest rankings were released on Tuesday.
Graham Henry's side are top on 91.43 points, with bronze medal winners Australia
second on 87.42 points.
France are third (84.70), followed by World Cup quarter-finalists South Africa (fourth, 84.34) and England (fifth, 81.58).
Wales (80.18) dropped from sixth to eighth despite an impressive World Cup campaign that saw them lose the third place play-off to the Wallabies.
Ireland (sixth, 80.65) and Argentina (seventh, 80.28) each climbed one place.
Tonga (ninth, 76.63) and Scotland (10th, 76.20) completed the top 10.