Samoa have moved up to 15th in the World Rugby Rankings after Romania were beaten 22-10 by Spain in the second round of the Rugby Europe Championship, a match which also doubled as a Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifier.
The defeat hurt the Oaks’ chances of making it to Japan 2019 as Europe 1 as well as costing them 1.34 rating points. And, having seen their overall rating drop to 68.24, they are now 0.79 of a point behind the Pacific Islanders in 16th. Spain stay 19th but have marginally closed the gap on Uruguay immediately above them.
Four other matches from the weekend counted towards the rankings but the only one that made any real difference was Brazil’s 45-5 loss to Canada in very wet conditions in Langford.
Os Tupis’ recent meteoric rise up the rankings, to an all-time high of 25th, was firmly put in check by Canada who finally found some form after a disappointing run of results.
While the 0.55-point gain enjoyed by Canada was not enough to lift them any higher than their present position of 21st, the loss of an identical amount cost Brazil two places. They now find themselves back in 27th, with Germany and Chile taking advantage despite the fact they were also beaten at the weekend.
Germany shipped 64 points without scoring any in reply at home to Rugby Europe Championship leaders Georgia while Chile came unstuck 45-13 against the USA, who presently top the standings in the Americas Rugby Championship.
The differences between the nations in the rankings meant that even emphatic wins for Georgia and USA had no impact.
The same was true of Russia's 47-8 win over Belgium, although that victory did give the Bears' hopes of securing a place at Rugby World Cup 2019 a boost by bringing them closer to Romania and Spain in the standings across the 2017 and 2018 Championships.