All Blacks up to second in World Rugby rankings, Boks stay fourth

Their 38-7 victory saw them retain the Rugby Championship title and also lock away the Bledisloe Cup for another year as they build World Cup momentum.

Head coach Ian Foster will be delighted with how they are tracking ahead of the global tournament, with their latest win taking them above hosts Les Bleus.

There is still chance for them to go into the Rugby World Cup as the number one ranked side but they would need to continue to impress at Ireland's expense.

For now, though they can be thrilled with second spot as the six-try win over the Wallabies saw them gain 0.45 points to jump above Fabien Galthie's outfit.

That means they now have 90.77 rating points compared to Les Bleus' 90.47, with Ireland's lead at the top of the rankings being reduced to just 1.05 points.

Despite the disappointing defeat, Australia hang on to eighth place in the rankings, but with a trip to Dunedin up next before facing France, they could be set to drop even further.

The Springboks remain in fourth after they held off Argentina 22-21 in a physical game at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in the Rugby Championship.

Elsewhere, Fiji have shot up three places following their 33-19 victory over Samoa in Apia that shifts them above their opponent, Japan and Georgia to 10th.

Meanwhile, Japan's 21-16 victory over Tonga did not change either nation's ranking place as they stay in 12th and 15th respectively.

Scotland also see no change to their World Rugby ranking position of fifth, despite their 25-13 victory over Italy that saw Darcy Graham get over for two tries.

Latest World Rugby men's rankings

1 Ireland 91.82

2 New Zealand 90.77

3 France 90.47

4 South Africa 88.36

5 Scotland 82.77

6 England 82.12

7 Argentina 81.47

8 Australia 79.87

9 Wales 78.08

10 Fiji 76.86

11 Georgia 76.23

12 Japan 76.13

13 Samoa 75.95

14 Italy 74.63

15 Tonga 70.53