World Rugby has published the ranking permutations for the opening round of The Rugby Championship this weekend.
Permutation highlights
South Africa will surrender top spot in the rankings to Ireland if they fail to beat Australia in The Rugby Championship 2024 opener in Brisbane.
The Springboks could drop to as low as third if they are beaten by more than 15 points and New Zealand win their opener against Argentina, the All Blacks moving up to second in this scenario.
South Africa cannot improve their rating with victory over Australia due to the 14.15 points difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in.
This same is true for New Zealand in third as they sit 8.73 rating points ahead of Argentina before home weighting is factored in.
The All Blacks, though, are safe in third place irrespective of the outcome of their match against Los Pumas as they cannot drop below France.
Argentina will replace Scotland in sixth if they manage to beat the All Blacks.
Victory will be enough to lift Australia above Italy into eighth place, while seventh place is within their reach if they win by more than 15 points and Argentina lose.
Match officials
Luke Pearce (England) will referee Australia v South Africa for the second time, having been in the middle for the Wallabies' 28-26 victory on the Gold Coast in 2021.
Angus Gardner (Australia) takes charge of New Zealand v Argentina for the sixth time with the All Blacks victorious on four occasions. Argentina's sole win was their first-ever over New Zealand in the 2020 Tri-Nations.
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