Ireland will head to the World Cup in Japan as the No 1-ranked team in the world courtesy of their 19-10 victory over Wales on Saturday.

Three weeks ago, the All Blacks relinquished the No 1 ranking to Wales after nine years at the top. But New Zealand returned to the summit last week, while Ireland climbed to second.

However, following the final round of warm-up fixtures this week, Ireland will usurp the All Blacks to rise to the coveted No 1 spot for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2003.

The official World Rugby rankings will be released on Monday afternoon.

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