Today’s rugby news as major world rankings changes announced in ominous warning to Wales

Here are your rugby headlines on the morning of Monday, September 23.

Big change in World Rugby rankings

With the penultimate round of the Rugby Championship and the final of the Pacific Nations Cup taking place this weekend, there will be significant changes in the world rugby rankings when they are announced at midday on Monday.

South Africa’s 29-28 defeat to Argentina in Santiago saw the world champions lose top spot to Ireland, with the one-point defeat robbing them of 1.81 ranking points – moving them down to second.

They now trail Andy Farrell’s side by 0.35 points. SIGN UP: Get the new exclusive Inside Welsh rugby newsletter for full insight into what’s really going on behind the scenes.

As reward for their victory, Argentina moved up to sixth ahead of Scotland.

The other Rugby Championship match saw the All Blacks consolidate third place with a win over Australia, while the Wallabies moved down to 10th.

Fiji, who secured the Pacific Nations Cup title with a 41-17 thrashing of Japan, moved ahead of Joe Schmidt’s side – with Wales’ first autumn opponents now sitting in ninth in an ominous warning to Warren Gatland”s side.

As for Eddie Jones’ Japan, that defeat saw them drop to 14th in the world.

In the other Pacific Nations Cup match, Samoa edged past USA 18-13 – which sees Samoa swap places with Japan to move to 13th. Even in defeat, there were no changes to the USA’s rankings – as they remain in 19th.

Wales, having dropped to an all-time low of 11th earlier this year, remain outside of the top 10 – with there being no change for Warren Gatland’s side.

Latest rugby world rankings:

Wales star enjoying ‘weird ride’ after finally winning first cap

New Wales cap James Ratti has hailed his ‘weird ride’ after finally winning a cap for his country this summer.

The Ospreys forward had previously been involved in two Wales squads in 2022 without making an appearance while at Cardiff. But a return to Swansea saw him impress last year, making Wales’ summer squad and winning his first cap against South Africa at Twickenham.

“It sounds great,” he told the Rugby Paper when asked about finally being an international player. “It’s something I’m really proud of. It’s an honour. It’s something every rugby player in Wales probably aspires to. It’s got a nice ring to it and it feels amazing.

“It’s been a bit of a weird ride. Some players come through the Academy and it’s plain sailing, some go abroad and then come back.

“For me, it’s been a bit of a mad journey, with a couple of 50-50 decisions along the way. I like to think I’ve picked all the right ones so far. It’s led me to where I am now and I’m really proud of everything I have done so far.

“It was tough the first time leaving the Ospreys. It probably did hit me quite hard. But if you don’t back yourself and let setbacks kick you down, you are never going to get where you want to be. You always have to have faith in yourself, keep working hard and get the rewards for it.”

Springboks coach refuses to blame fly-half after crucial miss

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus refused to blame fly-half Manie Libbok after his late penalty miss in South Africa’s loss to Argentina in the Rugby Championship.

Victory would have seen the Springboks seal the Rugby Championship title, but now they’ll have to wait until the final weekend of the tournament – and another match against Argentina – to secure the crown.

And while Libbok’s miss proved crucial, Erasmus felt the Boks should have made certain of the result before that point.

“I was really hoping that he would kick that over, not just for us to win the game but for him personally,” Erasmus said afterwards.

“He kicked well the whole week and kicked so well in the warm-up, he slotted everything but it’s pressure but the game shouldn’t have gone down to the wire of one man kicking it over.

“There were lots of opportunities where we lost the ball in line outs and just inside their 22 when we gave away a penalty, it was not a great display by us.

“He’ll get a lot of flack, we all know that, but he’ll have to find a way to manage that and I’m sure we will all get a lot of flack for him missing that kick.

“It shouldn’t have been on the last kick to win the game, we should have done it earlier.”

Barrett to undergo scan ahead of Bledisloe II

All Blacks starJordie Barrett will undergo a scan on a knee injury picked up in their narrow 31-28 victory over the Wallabies.

Leinster-bound Barrett was withdrawn just after half-time, with Anton Lienert-Brown coming on in his place.

Speaking to the media after the game, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson confirmed the 27-year-old, who is set to link up with the Irish province in December, is now set for a scan on a possible MCL injury.

“He’s got a medial knee, so we’ll have to get that scanned,” he said.

As well as missing the second clash with the Wallabies, any serious knee injury could affect his availability for Leinster this season.

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