For the first time in almost 1400 days, the All Blacks have taken back the No 1 spot on the World Rugby rankings.
Heading into the opening round of the Rugby Championship, it felt almost impossible that the Springboks would be dethroned from the summit where they have sat sinceNovember last year.
Third-ranked Ireland also had a chance to take top spot despite not playing at the weekend – but required South Africa and New Zealand to both lose by more than 15 points.
Coming up against a world No 6-ranked Wallabies outfit that had just lost a British and Irish Lions series on home soil, the Springboks were clear favourites.
But after an Australian masterclass at Ellis Park in Johannesburg stunned South Africa 38-22, the top spot was the All Blacks’ to lose – only requiring a draw against the Argentines.
The All Blacks bagged a bonus point 41-24 victory against the Pumas to kick off their Rugby Championship campaign in Cordoba, holding off a spirited second-half comeback from the home side in front of a buoyant 55,725 crowd at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes.
Two late tries off rolling mauls from replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho pushed New Zealand beyond two scores after Argentina ran in two unanswered tries to start the second half.
It was back in November 2021 when the All Blacks last held the top spot – but were leapfrogged by South Africa after losing to Ireland 29-20.
