Rugby World Cup 2015: Power Ranking Teams After Opening 20 Games

Wales' historic pool-stage win over England last Saturday went a long way to upsetting the Rugby World Cup 2015 script, and Stuart Lancaster's hosts now face the possibility to failing to make the quarter-finals.

That result has had a big hand in altering this week's power rankings, where Scotland are among the biggest climbers while would-be dark horses Japan have fallen back down the international pecking order.

As ever, these rankings differ from World Rugby's official list in that form is the most critical factor, but so too are things such as the quality of opposition faced and overall performance, not merely just a result itself.

Be sure to check out last week's rankings to see how your favourite team has fared after the first 20 matches of what's already proved to be a sensational World Cup.

20. Uruguay

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Movement: Down Three

For all the fight they've shown against the best Pool A has to offer, Uruguay have done as was unanimously foretold of them and rolled over against the likes of Wales and, more recently, Australia.

Their 65-3 defeat to the Wallabies on Sunday has been the biggest of the tournament thus far and means the South Americans currently have the worst defence, conceding an average of just under 60 points per game.

19. Romania

Movement: None

Romania have developed a habit of making things tough on their Pool D opponents in the opening exchanges only to falter in second halves against Ireland and France, an inevitable sign of their shallow talent pool, one might agree.

Only Uruguay (zero) have scored fewer tries than the Oaks (two) after two outings, and the brightest moment of their tournament so far has been Florin Surugiu's successful proposal to his fiancee Alexandria following a 44-10 loss to the Irish.

18. Namibia

Movement: Up Two

Moving off the bottom of the power rankings come Namibia, who followed up a hardy duel against New Zealand with an even fiercer display against Tonga on Tuesday, albeit losing 35-21 despite their best efforts.

Small consolation though it might be, this was the first time Namibia have managed to score more than two tries in a World Cup fixture, with captain Jacques Burger fittingly responsible for two of those.

The African minnows may be developing at something of a glacial pace, but the evidence is there to suggest improvements are underway.

17. United States

Movement: Down One

Still in search of their first points at the Rugby World Cup 2015, the United States will be bitterly disappointed with the manner in which they capitulated at Scotland's hands last Sunday.

Leading 13-6 at the halfway mark and having kept the Scots from bagging a single first-half try, stamina and squad depth eventually came to play its role in the devastation as Mike Tolkin's men fell 39-16.

The Americans were helpless but to watch as Scotland's clear technical strengths rose to the fore later after the break, effectively ruling out any chance of seeing USA advance.

16. Canada

Movement: Up Two

It may seem odd for Canada to move up in our rankings following a second successive defeat, but many will agree the Maple Leafs maybe deserved to come out on the winning side of Saturday's clash against Italy.

Kieran Crowley's men lost 23-18 to the Azzurri in a match that showed some poor match management from the players, with coach Kieran Crowley rightly lamenting a lack of "big-game opportunities," per ESPN's Tristan Barclay.

15. Italy

Movement: Down One

And just as Canada defy probability to move up in the face of defeat, so too do Italy, who drop by a place after struggling massively to beat their Tier Two opponents. They do not offer much hope of making it to the last eight.

Jacques Brunel's side lacked anything close to sparkle in attack, were limited to just 41 per cent possession overall and made 369 carrying metres compared to Canada's 497.

Brunel is lucky to have his first win of the tournament in hand.

14. Georgia

Martin Cleaver/Associated Press

Movement: Down Two

Georgia looked as though they were up to give Argentina a tough game after going in 14-9 down at the break, but a shallow bench proved too damaging for Milton Haig's men as they went on to lose 54-9.

Conceding 40 points in a tired-looking second half was criminal for the Georgians, who showed that they have an extreme weakness in the back line as things stand, just as was the case in their win against Tonga.

Making it to the World Cup is all well and good, but one can't expect to challenge the world's best with just half a team.

13. Samoa

Martin Cleaver/Associated Press

Movement: Down Two

If Samoa's flag was flying high in the wake of their opening victory over the United States, we can consider it hauled down following the 46-6 drubbing at South Africa's hands, where they simply weren't at the races.

Just two line breaks compared to the Springboks 13 and a dismal 22 per cent of the second-half territory, Samoa couldn't contend with a motivated South Africa side and rightly fall two places in our rankings a result.

12. Tonga

Movement: Up Three

Just as they did during an earlier defeat to Georgia, Tonga took a dominant share of possession against Namibia in midweek and made it count as they notched five tries in what was a much more glamorous outing.

One thing that's remained throughout their World Cup, though not always pristine in its execution, is Tonga's positive brand of running rugby, which the Telegraph reports may be down to 10 days of successive trips to Exeter's Nandos.

11. Fiji

Movement: Down One

Any brief hopes Fiji might have had to cause an upset in Pool A look to have been firmly extinguished following their 28-13 defeat at Australia's hands, despite managing to hold off the Wallabies assault for most of the second half.

It was gutsy by all accounts, but "gutsy" doesn't get you far in a World Cup, where results reign paramount above all else. Unfortunately for John McKee's men, they are yet to claim one.

10. Japan

Movement: Down Three

It was all going swimmingly for Japan until a four-day turnaround in fixtures seemed to take its toll on the team, following up their shock defeat of South Africa with a 45-10 loss to Scotland.

Perhaps more than a week's rest between their second and third outings will have a rejuvenating effect, but if the Scotland result is a sign that normality has been restored, the Cherry Blossoms won't hold out hope for a quarter-final spot.

9. Scotland

Movement: Up Four

The Telegraph's Jonathan Liew has asserted that self-belief is now the only thing preventing Scotland from topping Pool B after they claimed a glitzy five-try victory over the United States.

One would be inclined to agree after Japan showed South Africa are far from unbeatable, but coach Vern Cotter certainly won't be getting ahead of himself just yet.

This is a far more confident and expansive Scotland setup we're starting to see, but they need only ensure their second half against the United States can be turned into full 80-minute performances from here.

8. South Africa

Movement: Up One

Heyneke Meyer will hardly be back on cloud nine after seeing South Africa manage their first win of the World Cup against Samoa, but a six-try victory will undoubtedly go a long way to salving the Springboks' lingering woes.

Now the team can look back to restoring order in Pool B, and it likely all comes down to this Saturday's high-stakes matchup against fellow group favourites Scotland.

Jean de Villiers' broken jaw means the club have suffered a major loss in the experience department, which is likely to prove damaging, but South Africa move up a place after a routine win nonetheless.

7. Argentina

Movement: Up One

A fluent and free-flowing 54-9 trouncing of Georgia last Friday showed the world one thing: There's dynamite simmering in Daniel Hourcade's back line, of that the World Cup can be sure.

Between the likes of Santiago Cordero, Juan Imhoff and Juan Martin Hernandez, the Pumas are most certainly showing they're made up of more than just a top-class pack.

On the other hand, one might suggest there are bigger tests to come than anything Georgia can muster—which is by all means true—but it doesn't stop the fact Argentina have been mesmerising at times during the tournament.

6. France

Movement: Down Two

Just as the opening victory over Italy was far from a pretty affair, neither was last week's 38-11 win against Romania, in which only a three-try spree in the last 15 minutes could salvage the four-try bonus point.

Les Bleus always hold such promise, but coach Philippe Saint Andre's team looks like it's being held together by just a handful of key stars at the moment, which is hardly ideal World Cup material.

5. England

Movement: Down Three

As full-back Mike Brown could attest, there are barely even words to describe just how damaging a defeat England suffered on Saturday as they fell 28-25 to a Wales team they had led for the vast majority.

Not only did this defeat come in a home tournament, not only did it fall at Twickenham and not only was it to arguably England's greatest rugby rivals, but it showed some hurtful mental weaknesses that need to be swiftly addressed if the Red Rose is to make it any further.

Sports journalist Ian Stafford looked to the revival story of their 2007 Rugby World Cup as a reason to hold out hope yet, but while the talent is there, it's yet to be seen if Stuart Lancaster has a truly special team on his hands.

4. Australia

Movement: Up One

Coach Michael Cheika will have been extremely pleased to see Australia go about their business in such a fashionable manner against Uruguay on Sunday, demolishing the Uruguayans 65-3 to seal the biggest score of the competition thus far.

Despite making wholesale changes to his Wallabies, Cheika may now see some of those drafted in as potential contenders for Saturday's clash against England, with eight different tryscorers getting on the sheet at Villa Park.

England and Wales will be wary of the threat coming their way, and although Uruguay are among the teams most liable to concede heavily, this was nevertheless a big statement from the Australians.

2= Ireland

Movement: None

It would be unfair to budge a deep and unrelenting New Zealand from top spot, and yet Ireland don't deserve to fall in the slightest, so here the Boys in Green remain at joint-second in our rankings.

It took its time to come, but the darting figures of Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Tommy Bowe were in clinical form against Romania, where four of Ireland's six tries came over the course of the last 35 minutes.

Ian Madigan did his best to snap at a chance in the No. 10 jersey, but it's firmly held this Ireland team is only at its best with Johnny Sexton at fly-half, and signs of stiffness were admittedly present against the Oaks.

Hardly the perfect display, but a 44-10 win was comfortable all the same.

2= Wales

Movement: Up Four

Unsurprisingly , Wales reign dominant as our joint-biggest climbers this week after sealing a historic triumph at England headquarters, where half-back partners Dan Biggar and Gareth Davies were the keys to victory.

And what a morale-boosting win it was. Despite all the injury woes that continue to haunt their campaign, a well-regimented and faithful Welsh outfit stood proud in London to make themselves Pool A favourites.

The Wallabies will still be difficult to overcome, especially with Scott Williams and Hallam Amos now on the injured list, too, but Wales are dangerous at the worst of times, never mind with a nothing-to-lose mentality.

1. New Zealand

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Movement: None

A New Zealand team made up largely of second-string players barely had to open their gait as they warred to a 58-14 win over Namibia, which was hardly the complete performance by their own standards.

The problem for the rest of the participants is that those standards are so high, the All Blacks still looked devastating for vast periods of the bonus-point win, with Steve Hansen's men still on track to top Pool C.

Fly-half Dan Carter admitted to the official All Blacks website that the reigning champions need to "step up" in the fixtures to come, a scary notion for all those liable to encounter New Zealand.

All statistics come courtesy of ESPN Scrum.