Ireland have been demoted to eighth place in the World Rugby rankings following their 10-9 defeat to France in Paris.

Just over six months ago Joe Schmidt's side was listed second behind the All Blacks, but since then the back-to-back Six Nations champions have declined rapidly.

A draw against Wales in the opening round, followed by the loss against France last Saturday, have seen Ireland's rankings points total reduced from 81.17 to 80.27, which relegates them two spots behind England and Les Bleus in the pecking order.

Eddie Jones's England continue their steady surge up the rankings as they gained 0.73 of a rating point for beating Italy 40-9 in Rome, which moved them to sixth. France picked up 0.84 of a point, which lifted them up to seventh position.

Wales remain fourth, but have strengthened their position with 0.09 of a point increase, while further down, Scotland and Italy dropped points but are still ranked 11th and 12th respectively.

World Rugby rankings (Top 20)

1. New Zealand 96.10
2. Australia 89.33
3. South Africa 87.66
4. Wales 83.58
5. Argentina 82.59
6. England 81.62
7. France 80.61
8. Ireland 80.27
9. Japan 77.05
10. Fiji 76.96
19. Scotland 76.80
12. Italy 72.01
13. Tonga 71.60
14. Georgia 71.45
15. Samoa 70.36
16. USA 68.66
17. Romania 66.59
18. Russia 64.08
19. Canada 63.62
20. Namibia 61.75
Full rankings
How the rankings work

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