Today the International Rugby Board announced the launch of the official IRB World Rankings for the XV-a-side international men's game.
The IRB World Rankings will be published every Monday at 12 midday, UK time on the IRB's website. It will also be featured on the IRB's weekly television programme World of Rugby as well as in monthly newsletters and magazines.
The Rankings will be the official indicator of the development of Unions. The system was chosen for its reliability, transparency and flexibility and has been tested on an extensive database of nearly 4,500 international matches dating back to 1871.
Each team was awarded their ranking points (up to 100) on current strength, which stays the same until they play again.
But under the system, a team cannot gain points with close losses against higher-ranked opponents.
As Australia has lost four of its past five Tests, its IRB ranking has fallen to 83.81 from the projected 87.43 it would have been last year when ranked second behind New Zealand.
Through winning 15 of its past 17 Tests, mostly against lower-ranked teams, Ireland has risen from sixth to now have 83.92 points.
One rating point difference between countries is calculated at being equivalent to two points on the field.
Official IRB Rankings:
RANK COUNTRY RATING
1 England 89.95
2 New Zealand 89.8
3 Ireland 83.92
4 Australia 83.81
5 France 82.85
6 South Africa 80.92
7 Argentina 80
8 Samoa 74.67
9 Scotland 74.42
10 Wales 74.24
11 Fiji 72.45
12 Tonga 70.08
13 Italy 69.98
14 United States 68.42
15 Romania 67.73
16 Canada 66.21
17 Georgia 63.8
18 Japan 62.68
19 Uruguay 62.65
20 Portugal 62.03
21 Morocco 60.8
22 Korea 60.78
23 Russia 60.2
24 Chile 59.65
25 Namibia 58.76
26 Czech Republic 57.61
27 Ukraine 56.97
28 Germany 54.96
29 Hong Kong 54.67
30 Spain 54.28
31 Tunisia 54.09
32 Chinese Taipei 53.09
33 Poland 52.82
34 Croatia 52.8
35 Brazil 51.87
36 Paraguay 51.25
37 Denmark 49.75
38 Switzerland 49.08
39 Cote d'Ivorie 48.87
40 Netherlands 48.38
41 Madagascar 48.27
42 Kazakhstan 48.17
43 Sweden 47.41
44 Arabian Gulf 47.25
45 Zimbabwe 47.22
46 Latvia 47.17
47 China 47.05
48 Peru 47.04
49 Slovenia 46.98
50 Trin & Tobago 46.36
51 Kenya 46.3
52 Bermuda 46.3
53 Belgium 46.18
54 Thailand 45.65
55 Venezuela 45.52
56 Cook Islands 45.11
57 Singapore 44.9
58 Moldova 44.58
59 Yugoslavia 44.06
60 Papua N Guinea 43.52
61 Lithuania 43.39
62 Zambia 42.9
63 Sri Lanka 42.8
64 Andorra 42.6
65 Hungary 42.43
66 Cayman Islands 42.03
67 Uganda 42.02
68 Malta 41.46
69 Solomon Islands 40.27
70 Nigeria 40
71 Guam 40
72 Senegal 40
73 St Lucia 40
74 Malaysia 39.44
75 Niue Island 39.31
76 Cameroon 38.97
77 Guyana 38.95
78 Monaco 38.81
79 Tahiti 38.62
80 Colombia 38.5
81 Barbados 38.48
82 Jamaica 38.14
83 Swaziland 37.92
84 Bulgaria 36.99
85 Luxembourg 36.91
86 Austria 36.76
87 Israel 35.95
88 Botswana 35.82
89 India 35.49
90 Vanuatu 35.16
91 Bahamas 34.2
92 Bosnia 33.94
93 Norway 33.62
94 Finland 33.06
Click here for the IRB's full explanation of how the rankings are worked out