Ireland close gap with top ranked South Africa after win in Durban

Ireland have consolidated their second position in the World Rugby Rankings while closing the gap over the top placed South Africa following their recent win in Durban.

Following their loss in Pretoria, Ireland were trailing for most part of last weekend's encounter in Durban where Conor Murray was the lone try scorer in the game. Handre Pollard was the only points scorer for the Boks in the game where he kicked eight penalty goals but eventually it was double drop goal effort from Ciaran Frawley that helped Andy Farrell's men register a 25-24 victory.

The win meant Ireland now have 92.12 rating points as they trail the World Champions by just 0.99 points.

New Zealand completed their 2-0 series whitewash against England following a 24-17 victory at Eden Park. It was Mark Telea who scored a double while Damian McKenzie contributed with four penalties and a conversion.

The win has saw New Zealand gain 0.25 rating points as they maintained their third place while England continued to remain at fifth place.

Australia's 36-28 victory over Wales their second in the series saw them gain 0.55 rating points but despite that they slip down to 9th place with Italy moving to 8th.

Georgia's win over Japan saw them rise two place to 12th place with the Brave Blossoms swapping to the 14th place. Portugal and Canada are the other climbers after the weekend's game as they moved to 15th and 21st positions respectively.

World Rugby Top 10 Rankings:

Rank	Team	Rating Points
1	South Africa	93.11
2	Ireland	92.22
3	New Zealand	90.37
4	France	86.96
5	England	85.40
6	Scotland	82.82
7	Argentina	81.64
8	Italy	78.98
9	Australia	78.70
10	Fiji	77.44