Wales fall to 11th and are now closer to Canada than New Zealand in rankings points

Wales have slipped one place to 11th in the World Rugby men's rankings, even though Wales's rating stayed unchanged at 76.38 points.

The official table published on 21 September puts Wales 14.76 points behind second-placed New Zealand and 14.10 points ahead of 22nd-placed Canada. That makes the gap to Canada 0.66 points smaller than the gap to the All Blacks.

Japan's rise pushes Wales down

Japan moved from 12th to ninth with 77.28 points. Fiji fell from ninth to 10th on 76.81, leaving Wales between Fiji and 12th-placed Italy. Italy are only 0.08 points behind Wales.

Canada climb two places

Canada rose from 24th to 22nd and gained 1.91 rating points. Wales did not lose rating points in this update, but movement around the table narrowed the visual gap between the established rugby nations and lower-ranked teams.

What the comparison does and does not show

The comparison is a snapshot of rating points, not a forecast that Wales would lose to Canada. World Rugby uses a points-exchange system that accounts for the result, the relative strength of the teams, the winning margin and home advantage.

Wales remain 11 places above Canada and nine places below New Zealand. The sharper warning is closer to home: only 0.51 rating points separate ninth-placed Japan from 12th-placed Italy, with Wales inside that four-team group.