Ireland strengthen grip at the top of the world rankings

The victory ended a 14-game winning streak for Fabien Galthie's French side, who remain in second spot on the rankings that uniquely sees no changes after the weekend.

Les Bleus are now only four-tenths of a point above the third-placed All Blacks, with the Boks trailing just one-tenth of a point further behind in fourth.

Andy Farrell's men are also now in a prime position to go on and claim the Grand Slam this season.

Scotland built on their performance from the first round, claiming a solid 35-7 win over Wales which tightening their grip on fifth place. It was their first time winning in rounds one and two since 1995.

The Scots now hold a 1.09 point gap over their neighbours England, who claimed their first win under head coach Steve Borthwick against Italy with a 31-14 triumph at Twickenham on Sunday.

The loss for Wales sees them coming very close to losing their ninth-place spot, holding a slim 0.34 gap to Japan, who are in 10th. Head coach Warren Gatland will be desperate to get the first win of his second tenure at the helm of Wales, who look very out of sorts at the moment.

Latest World Rugby Rankings

1 Ireland 91.332 France 89.383 New Zealand 88.984 South Africa 88.975 Scotland 83.366 England 82.277 Australia 81.808 Argentina 80.729 Wales 78.7310 Japan 77.3911 Samoa 76.0312 Italy 75.8313 Georgia 75.1914 Fiji 74.8415 Tonga 71.21