IRELAND have moved up to a highest ever position of second place in the official World Rugby rankings.
The rise came as Joe Schmidt’s World Cup preparations got off to a perfect start with a comfortable 35-21 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
That proved to be enough to see them leapfrog South Africa in the latest rankings, which are published on Monday, with the Springboks suffering a shock 37-25 loss to Argentina at the weekend.
The warm-up match at the Millennium Stadium also served as an opportunity for some of Schmidt’s fringe players to prove their worth to his squad, which must be chopped down to 31 members by September 6.
New World Rugby Rankings: 1. New Zealand 2. IRELAND 3. Australia 4. England 5. South Africa #RWC2015
— Irish Post Sport (@IrishPostSport) August 10, 2015
And their individual performances have given Ireland’s head coach a welcome selection headache, with several staking a strong claim to make the final cut.
The fluid second string crossed the whitewash no less than five times, with Jamie Heaslip, Darren Cave, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Felix Jones the men responsible.
For all the positives, Schmidt has fresh injury concerns over Tommy O’Donnell and Andrew Trimble, but the Irish are nonetheless in a strong position ahead of their World Cup opener on September 19.
