England fall, Ireland rise and Wales hit No.2… rugby rankings are out

Ireland has kicked-off a great Rugby World Cup campaign so far – with tries galore leaving the team sitting on top of Pool D.

And Wales's stunning 28-25 win over host-nation England has had a major impact on the just-released world rugby rankings.

WORLD RANKINGS: @WelshRugbyUnion into best-ever second, @Springboks up to 5th & @Scotlandteam back into top 10 pic.twitter.com/YERLyBboR1

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) September 28, 2015

Yes, while the All Blacks remains the best team playing, Wales has climbed up two places on the same list – hitting the No.2 spot for the first time in the 12-year history of the weekly-released table. 

Despite being something of a pre-tournament favourite, England, on the other hand, falls down to No.6. On this side of the water, there was good news for Ireland, however – the Boys In Green are up a spot to No.4 in the world.

France, our most threatening rival in Pool D, is currently ranked No.7.

WORLD RANKINGS 11-20: With points exchanges doubled during #RWC2015, @officialtongaru & @federugby both climb 1 place pic.twitter.com/f1ozuyDKGg

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) September 28, 2015

Scotland is the biggest climber – making it into the Top Ten to reach No.9 from a previous ranking of 12. 

Joe Schmidt's squad next face 14th-placed Italy in six days' time at the Olympic Stadium in London. 

Earlier today it was announced that more than a million people had tuned into TV3 to watch the Ireland Vs Romania game yesterday.