The wait for the Springboks to take to the field again is almost over, but fans will have to wait until Sunday night as South Africa take on Scotland in the final match of the action-packed international rugby weekend.

There’s a blockbuster clash between the All Blacks and Ireland on Friday night which will speed things up and here’s how the Springboks can get back to No1 in the world rankings.

As the Springboks return to action, permutations in the rugby rankings stand out:

• The Springboks will return to number one in the world rugby rankings if they win against Scotland on Sunday and Ireland fail to beat New Zealand on Friday.
• If Ireland lose, a draw would be enough for the Springboks.
• Ireland are guaranteed to stay top of the table if they beat New Zealand in Dublin, regardless of the result at Murrayfield.
• If Ireland and Scotland win by more than 15 points, their advantage at the top could increase to 3.35 rating points.
• New Zealand can also finish the weekend as number one for the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final if they beat Ireland and South Africa lose to Scotland; This is a scenario where the All Blacks will go one step ahead on both ends.
• If South Africa draw, New Zealand need to beat Ireland by more than 15 points to take top spot and effectively displace Ireland.
• France cannot improve their fourth-placed ranking by beating Japan due to the 14.65-point gap between the sides before home weighting is taken into account.
• But there is plenty of leeway among other teams taking part in this weekend’s Autumn Nations Series or men’s international competition.
• Should Les Bleus lose at home to Japan, the four teams could finish the weekend in fourth place; current incumbent France, followed by Argentina, England and Scotland.
• If Los Pumas beat Italy and France lose at home to Japan, England will jump two places to fourth, regardless of what they do against Australia.
• For England to move up to fourth place, they not only need to beat Australia but also hope Argentina and Scotland fail to win and France lose by more than 15 points.
• If Argentina and Scotland win, England will drop to sixth place, even if they beat the Wallabies by more than 15 points; Two points if France’s defeat is by a smaller margin.
• England have not fallen to seventh place since February 2016.
• Scotland need to win by more than 15 points if Los Pumas win narrowly to reach a new high and move into fourth place.
• Italy currently sit in eighth place, their highest ever, and even if they beat Argentina by more than 15 points they can’t move any higher because there isn’t a combination of results that would make that possible.
• The Azzurri can beat Los Pumas and still drop one place if Australia beat England at the Allianz Stadium.
• Fiji could move up two places with a win against Wales, but this depends on the scoreboard and the results of other matches involving teams around them.
• Wales cannot move up to 11th even if they beat Fiji by more than 15 points, but the gap will be reduced to just 0.03 rating points.
• There is a scenario where Wales could drop to 12th if they lose to Fiji by more than 15 points and Japan beat France by the same margin.
• Japan will then jump three places, above Samoa and Georgia, who have no test action this weekend, with the latter playing the All Blacks XV in Montpellier.

HERE IS SPRINGBOKS’ SITUATION IN THE LATEST WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS:

WHAT IS YOUR SCORE PREDICTION FOR SUNDAY?

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