Ireland down to eighth in rugby world rankings
A fourth consecutive defeat in the World Cup warm-up series has seen Ireland slip to eighth in the World Rankings, our lowest ever position.
Saturday’s 9-20 defeat to England at the Aviva Stadium was enough to send Ireland further down the international pecking order, dropping one place from seventh, a position now occupied by Scotland.
Ireland’s rigorous pre-tournament schedule was designed to avoid the mistakes of 2007 when Eddie O’Sullivan’s squad entered the World Cup underprepared.
However, four defeats in a row were not part of Declan Kidney’s plan, as his team must now come to terms with a ranking that equals their lowest ever standing, one they endured for almost a year before their Six Nations Grand Slam winning campaign of 2009.
Things could have been worse for O’Connell and co. however - had England's victory margin been more than 15 points, Ireland would have fallen to ninth.
Just five months ago Ireland enjoyed the highest ranking of any northern hemisphere team, sitting in fourth position after the 24-8 victory over England at the end of the Six Nations.
Finishing on the wrong side of a 10-6 score line at Murrayfield on August sixth cost Kidney's side two places as England and France overtook them.
Back to back losses to France continued the trend, with the men in green slipping below Wales to seventh before Saturday’s result completed the descent.
Italy (11th) are now the only Six Nations side beneath Ireland, who head to New Zealand with no momentum whatsoever and with the daunting task of facing Tri-Nations champions Australia on September 17 looming large.
