Springboks 24 hours away from LOSING world No 1 ranking!

The Springboks’ near two-year reign atop the World Rugby rankings could be over come Saturday, 18 September afternoon.

READ | SPRINGBOKS CATCH HUGE BREAK AS TOP ALL BLACKS TRIO RULED OUT OF 100TH TEST

The Springboks took the No 1 spot after winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup on 2 November of that year, but thanks to 20 months of inactivity and a three-match series against the British & Irish Lions which had no bearing on their points tally, opponents have managed to narrow the gap.

So much so that after Monday’s latest World Rugby rankings update, the Springboks now lead the All Blacks by just 2.18 points.

READ | LONDON IRISH CONFIRM SQUAD FOR 2021/22 SEASON

Should this coming’s Saturday’s results reflect last Sunday’s final scores, the Springboks will no longer be top of the pops.

If Jacques Nienaber’s men lose to the Wallabies (by any margin) – which is entirely possible although Springboks fans will be hoping (and expecting) their team to improve considerable on their last performance – AND the All Blacks beat Argentina by a 16-point margin (which WILL happen – bet on that!) then the All Blacks will be the new No 1 side in the world.

Such a set of results would see the Springboks lose 1.54 points while the All Blacks would pick up 0.83, moving them 0.20 ahead.

The Wallabies would also jump from fifth to third in the standings after moving from seventh to fifth after their 28-26 win last weekend.

READ | RUAN PIENAAR RETURNS TO THE SHARKS FOR THE GOOD OF SA RUGBY