Pumas retake seventh spot from Ireland

The agony of Ireland’s Twickenham loss continues to grow following the release of the latest IRB rankings.

Ireland dropped one place to eighth, falling once more below Argentina, having climbed above the Pumas after the draw with France the previous weekend.

England got a small bit of revenge over Wales though.

Despite missing out on the Six Nations championship they retained fourth spot thanks to the margin of their 30-9 trouncing of Ireland.

That position, should they hold onto it over the summer tour, will guarantee them a top-four ranking for the RWC 2015 pool stage and help avoid one of the big three southern hemisphere sides.

However, the gap between the two has been reduced to just three-tenths.

France, who started the Six Nations in third after reaching the World Cup final, remain sixth despite the loss to Wales.

The only Six Nations side on the rise in the rankings this week are Italy, who climb one place to 11th on the back of a 13-6 win over Scotland, who fall to their lowest ever position of 12th.