The All Blacks suffered their heaviest-ever defeat in Test rugby, falling to a 43-10 loss to the Springboks, which has seen them plummet down the World Rugby rankings.<\/b><\/p>\n
For the first time ever, South Africa defended the Freedom Cup and did so emphatically, avenging the Eden Park defeat by running in six tries to New Zealand\u2019s one to blow the Rugby Championship<\/a> wide open with two rounds to go.<\/p>\n South Africa return to the top<\/p>\n The victory sees the world champions return to the summit of the world rankings, with the All Blacks falling two places into third.<\/p>\n South Africa<\/a> earned a mammoth 2.25 rating points after beating New Zealand<\/a> by more than 15 points in Aotearoa, with the All Blacks losing the same amount.<\/p>\n That means that Rassie Erasmus\u2019 men leave the land of the long white cloud 1.62 points in the positive after losing 0.63 rating points in defeat at Eden Park.<\/p>\n Superb Springboks avenge Eden Park handing the All Blacks their biggest defeat EVER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n It also sees them return to the top of the rankings, the place they surrendered in defeat to Australia at Ellis Park in Round One of the Rugby Championship. Meanwhile, Ireland have moved into second place with New Zealand dropping to third.<\/p>\n Australia and Argentina have swapped positions in the rankings after a thrilling encounter in Sydney, where Argentina emerged 28-26 victors despite a mighty fight by the Wallabies.<\/p>\n Springboks player ratings: \u2018Perfect\u2019 Damian Willemse and Bomb Squad as Cheslin Kolbe\u2019s all-timer halted by \u2018thuggish act\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Joe Schmidt\u2019s charges may have picked up two bonus points from the match, having finished within seven points and outscoring the Pumas four tries to one, but they have slipped in the rankings after losing 1.56 ranking points to Argentina.<\/p>\n That means that Felipe Contepomi\u2019s men have moved into sixth position in the rankings, a crucial spot as it will be band one for the Men\u2019s Rugby World Cup 2027 draw in December.<\/p>\n Fly-half Santiago Carreras put in a telling 23-point performance for Argentina, racking up seven penalties and converted Julian Montoya\u2019s try.<\/p>\n Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii scored a stunning try for the Australians, with Andrew Kellaway and Filipo Daugunu (2) also crossing the whitewash for the hosts. However, the inaccuracies off the tee proved costly for the Wallabies with three conversion attempts going awry.<\/p>\n The World Rugby rankings are set for further changes this weekend with the Pacific Nations Cup semi-finals getting underway on Sunday.<\/p>\n