Coming into Saturday’s Six Nations clash in Dublin, Ireland were favourites to clinch victory at home, claim the tournament title and remain on track for another Grand Slam, but France had other ideas.
The French weathered an early storm, and then romped to an emphatic 42-27 win that will reverberate around world rugby, and puts them in line to almost certainly claim the Six Nations trophy.
There was a lot riding on the game at the Aviva Stadium, and if Ireland could have achieved a big win against France, they could have even cut the Springboks’ lead at the summit of the world rankings to just 0.90 points.
Instead, it was France who came away with bragging rights, although they would have been disappointed to conceded two late tries that certainly flattered the final scoreboard.
New Zealand are now the closest side to the Springboks in the rankings, but there is a ranking points gap of 2.42, while Ireland have fallen to third, with France right behind them in fourth.
CURRENT WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS AFTER FRANCE BEAT IRELAND:
RANK | COUNTRY | POINTS |
1 | South Africa | 92.78 |
2 | New Zealand | 90.36 |
3 | Ireland | 89.71 |
4 | France | 89.51 |
5 | Argentina | 84.97 |
6 | England | 84.26 |
7 | Scotland | 82.36 |
8 | Australia | 81.52 |
9 | Fiji | 80.07 |
10 | Italy | 78.00 |
11 | Georgia | 74.69 |
12 | Wales | 73.75 |
13 | Japan | 72.95 |
14 | Samoa | 72.68 |
15 | USA | 70.02 |
16 | Portugal | 68.30 |
17 | Spain | 67.34 |
18 | Uruguay | 67.06 |
19 | Tonga | 65.46 |
20 | Romania | 62.76 |
SIX NATIONS 2025 FIXTURES
ROUND 4
Saturday, 8 March
Ireland vs France
Scotland vs Wales
Sunday, 9 March
England vs Italy
ROUND 5
Saturday, 15 March
Italy vs Ireland
Wales vs England
France vs Scotland
Permutation highlights:
- Scotland will fall below Australia if held to a draw at Murrayfield, a result which would see Wales climb back above Georgia into 11th place.
- A defeat by more than 15 points will see Scotland also fall below Fiji with a three=place drop to 10th possible if the margin is by more than 15 points and Italy upset England at Allianz Stadium.
- Without this margin of defeat for Scotland, Italy can still improve their position of 10th but it would require their first-ever win over England to be by more than 15 points. This scenario would be enough to lift the Azzurri above Fiji.
- England can only gain a maximum of 0,11 rating points for beating Italy so cannot climb any higher than sixth place.
- However, defeat will see England fall below a victorious Scotland side into seventh, with Australia also set to climb above them if the margin is by more than 15 points.
Ticket sales
Remember, if you want to catch the Springboks take on Argentina in this year’s Rugby Championship in Twickenham, tickets are now on sale!
Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.co.uk and England Rugby, starting from just £55* for adults and £28* for Under-16s.
Hospitality packages are also available on www.allianzstadiumtwickenham.com
(*booking fees apply)
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE RESULT IN DUBLIN?
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Crédito: Link de origem