Twickenham win not enough for Boks to lift All Blacks into World Rugby rankings

It’s been a topsy-turvy year for Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks, and they will finish fourth in the World Rugby rankings.

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By beating England at Twickenham on Saturday, South Africa made it two wins out of four on its end-of-year tour of Europe.

The 27-13 victory at the home of England rugby union was impressive as the Springboks dominated Eddie Jones for much of the game.

Even when they lost Thomas du Toit in the 60th minute to a red card, South Africa did not look in danger of suffering the same fate as New Zealand a week earlier as their defense remained strong with just 14 men on the field.

Thanks to the victory, the Boks managed 0.96 points in the rankings, although that was not enough to take third place from the All Blacks.

Ireland finished the year as the highest ranked team, ahead of France. Both teams beat South Africa, albeit under controversial circumstances, with Rassie Erasmus questioning some of the referees’ decisions in both matches.

READ | Bok manager Nienaber takes first ‘special’ win at Twickenham: ‘It was a team effort’

Jacques Nienaber’s men earned 0.96 points for their win, but it wasn’t enough to see them jump New Zealand into third place.

The only other test match played this weekend saw Australia beat Wales 39-34.

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