How the rugby world ranking works
Why does a rugby team gain only a few points for beating a much weaker side?
Because the World Rugby Rankings are a points exchange. Each team has a rating, usually between 0 and 100. After a match, the winner takes points off the loser. How many depends on the gap between them. Beat a side you were expected to beat and the exchange is small; beat a side rated above you and it is bigger.
The home team is treated as three points stronger than it is, to cancel out home advantage. A win by more than 15 points multiplies the exchange by 1.5. Rugby World Cup matches count double. Every other full international counts the same, friendly or not.
A team cannot gain points by losing, or lose points by winning.
The one thing to remember: rugby's ranking only moves much when a result surprises.
The steps, using World Rugby's own example
Wales against Scotland, Cardiff, 14 February 2004.
- Ratings before the match: Wales 76.92, Scotland 76.36.
- Home advantage: Wales treated as 76.92 + 3 = 79.92.
- Rating gap: 79.92 − 76.36 = 3.56 in Wales's favour.
- Core change, from the result and the gap: if Wales win, Wales up 0.64 and Scotland down 0.64. If a draw, Wales down 0.36 and Scotland up 0.36. If Scotland win, Scotland up 1.36 and Wales down 1.36.
- Weights: a win by more than 15 points multiplies the change by 1.5 (a 30-10 Wales win would be 0.96). A Rugby World Cup finals match doubles it.
Wales won 23-10, so 0.64 points changed hands: Wales to 77.57, Scotland to 75.72.
Other rules
- Only full internationals between World Rugby full member unions count.
- There is a cap on how far one result can move a rating.
- A new full member starts on 30 (men, since 1 December 2012).
- A team that stops playing for years may be listed as dormant and removed; it picks up its old rating on return.
- Each match is worth a total of zero (one side's gain is the other's loss), so playing more matches brings no advantage of its own.
The women's ranking
The same exchange. Starting ratings differ: every team began on 80 in 1987, less two points for each year between 1987 and its first women's international, up to 2007. A team whose first full international came after 2007 starts on 40.
Five possible outcomes
For any match only five outcomes matter: a draw, or either side winning by up to 15 or by more than 15. So World Rugby can say in advance what each result would do to the ratings.
Variations
| Ranking | Covered here |
|---|---|
| Men's and women's fifteens | Yes |
| Sevens (the Olympic form) | No: source not saved |