England will finish the year in third place on the official World Rugby rankings after claiming their 11th straight victory.<\/b><\/p>\n
Steve Borthwick\u2019s side held on to defeat Argentina 27-23 at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Sunday evening to cement their third-place ranking behind South Africa and New Zealand, respectively.<\/p>\n
Weekend\u2019s impact<\/p>\n
Prior to kick off against the Pumas<\/a>, the bands for the upcoming 2027 Rugby World Cup<\/a> had been finalised but there was a threat England<\/a> could surrender third position to Ireland in defeat.<\/p>\n Instead, the hosts held out for the victory and closed the gap on the All Blacks to 0.92, as Scott Robertson\u2019s men earned no rating points for the victory over Wales on Saturday.<\/p>\n There was late movement in the bands; however, as Wales and Japan both moved up the rankings, by one position, after the latter\u2019s 25-23 victory over Georgia, who dropped two ranking positions. That meant that Georgians dropped from band 2 ahead of the draw for Australia 2027 to band 3.<\/p>\n Opinion: Credit to Daan Human as Springboks \u2018battered and bullied\u2019 Ireland\u2019s B&I Lions without their \u2018chief destroyers\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n World Cup hosts, the Wallabies needed to a record a massive win over France in order to elevate themselves into band 1 but failed to do so as they finished the year in seventh position and in band 2 along with Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales and Japan. Les Bleus\u2019 win meant that they held onto fifth place in the rankings.<\/p>\n South Africa and Wales will face off in the final match of the year next weekend and even in defeat, the Springboks will not surrender top spot. While Wales can improve their rating points, it would not be enough to move back into the top 10, ahead of Italy.<\/p>\n Argentina player ratings v England: Contepomi \u2018unearths another superstar\u2019 but Bomb Squad \u2018implodes in the clutch\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Confirmed Rugby World Cup draw bands<\/p>\n Band 1:<\/b> South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina
Band 2:<\/b> Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan
Band 3:<\/b> Georgia, Spain, Uruguay, USA, Chile, Tonga
Band 4:<\/b> Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe, Canada<\/p>\n