Rugby World Cup quarter-final rankings: England usurped by Wales

Only Argentina now stands between Wales and the World Cup semi-finals. Photo: Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo

Final round The 2023 Rugby World Cup saw Ireland score a resounding win over Scotland, England lose to Samoa and Portugal stun Fiji in one of the tournament's games.

Wales are on the way to success, scoring four out of four points. with victory over Georgia, while the strange grip of the competition's top four teams looks tighter than ever.

Here we rank all eight teams remaining in the Rugby World Cup, and also offer a retrospective ranking of all the teams that qualified from the group stage.

Do you agree with the rating below? Join the discussion in the comments section. And remember, you can also make your own rankings at the bottom of this page.

Also take a look at our tournament rankings for strength in the first, second, third and fourth rounds.

After that defeat from the Portuguese, the Fijians were incredibly lucky that they did not fall out of the top 10, giving way to their Toulouse conquerors. However, the Pacific Islanders have plenty of credits in the bank from earlier in the tournament. That being said, Sunday evening was as dark as the days of the World Cup for Fiji; not ideal as we are facing a quarter-final against England.

7. Argentina

The victory — although not entirely convincing — over Japan allowed Argentina to reach the quarter-finals. On paper, without any tournament context, Los Pumas would normally go into the Wales match in Marseille as favourites; However, as this tournament went, the roles were reversed. That being said, Argentina have enough class to sting Gatland's team.

6. England

It's hard to coach this England team. The performance was awkward and clunky at times in the win over Samoa, but as with Japan and Argentina, Steve Borthwick's side got over the line and now enter the quarter-finals unbeaten. Not many could have predicted this before the tournament. Fiji's last eight matches are set for failure and suddenly England's bid for the semi-finals seems realistic.

5. Wales

A bit flattering, but as with England, Wales' unbeaten run to the quarter-finals changed the odds and proved many doubters wrong. Again, like England, Gatland's team can start dreaming of a semi-final with Argentina. The victory over Georgia was nervy and disorganized at times, but in the end it was a relatively smooth victory for the Welsh.

England will face Fiji in the last eight of the Rugby World Cup. Photo: Getty Images/Miguel Medina. 4. New Zealand

A team that scores 73 points moves down one position. Cruel. New Zealand remain one of the leading contenders for the tournament and a 73-point win over Uruguay did not change the situation. But the All Blacks were sloppy in the first 20 minutes and, given the quality of their opposition, France overtook the Kiwis into third place. New Zealand's quarter-final against Ireland should be a fight for the ages.

3. France

No one really expected a disaster in Lyon, with France losing to Italy and crashing out in the group stage of their home World Cup, but then again, no one really expected Italy to be as poor as they were against New Zealand. There were minor improvements in the Azzurri, but France, operating in a white-hot atmosphere, performed admirably, defeating the Italians. The perfect preparation for the last eight match: hosts and favorites against the reigning world champions in Paris. Titanic.

2. South Africa

South Africa were able to get back on their feet this weekend knowing their job was 95 percent done. Qualification was not entirely guaranteed, but ruining the Springbok dream would have required Scotland to do something almost otherworldly, which did not happen. After a week's rest, full of optimism, they will head to the Stade de France to face Les Blais, hoping to upset the hosts.

1. Ireland

Before the tournament it was almost impossible to pick the favorites of the trio of France, South Africa and Ireland. However, having surpassed the death toll, Andy Farrell's team put their nose — and everyone's — forward. The victories over the Springboks and Scotland were seismic, both in terms of results on the respective nights and in terms of resonance throughout the rugby world. The All Blacks will pose a stiff challenge, but if Ireland can replicate their pool stage form, they will be history makers; The Irish team reached the semi-finals for the first time.

The remaining teams finished in 12th place. Romania

The sad tournament for Romania ended with another heavy defeat — this time from Tonga. Over the last month the table was 32 points for, 287 against. And, most importantly, zero points in the group classification.

11. Namibia

Since the tournament had already ended, only a strong defeat for the Romanians could upset their position in the table. Fortunately for Namibia, this did not happen.

10. Chile

Another team whose tournament ended before the final weekend of pool matches. Winless Chile showed promise and potential in Group D but could do nothing to prevent finishing in last place.

9. Uruguay

For 20 minutes, Uruguay kept New Zealand on the brink. However, the next 60 tournaments were a disintegration: after a long tournament, the South Americans' lungs and legs were burning. However, Los Teros return home with a loan from the bank.

8. Tonga

In this hellish pool, Tonga's chances of progress were minimal. A 20-point win over Romania ended their group stage and many expected a more complete defeat.

7. Georgia

Within 60 minutes, Georgia's match against Wales was in the balance. In the end, however, Warren Gatland's team took too much and emerged victorious. A drop of two places may seem cruel after Georgia's efforts led by the divine David Niniashvili, but the drop is only a side effect due to events that occurred elsewhere on Sunday in the same pool.

6. Italy

The most depressing and depressing week in the history of Italian rugby? Of course, in the professional era it is difficult to remember more desolate, desperate and disheartening events. After all this progress — and with a noticeable improvement in attack — Italy took two big steps back after attacks from New Zealand and France. Captain Michele Lamaro has looked broken lately.

Italy left the World Cup battered and bruised. Photo: Getty Images/Lionel Khan 5. Japan

Failing to reach the quarter-finals — and, again, due to that famous victory elsewhere — Japan dropped two places despite bright spells against Argentina. In the end, however, the history books will only remember a third place finish and a step back from the highs of their 2019 home tournament. At least Brave Flowers will come home with a real try. tournament contender thanks to a wonderful solo effort from Amato Fakatawa.

4. Samoa

A team that loses and is up by four? That may be generous, but it would be remiss not to reward the Samoans for their performance against England in Lille. In reality, the Pacific Islanders should have won this game — and certainly played some more attractive rugby — but they will head home having failed to upset the Group D apple cart after arriving with high hopes.

3. Portugal

Raise your hands if your bingo card said Portugal would be a big success story heading into the tournament? However, this is the reality we find ourselves in as Fiji — after losing to Uruguay in 2019 — once again found itself on the sidelines of the tournament in an upset. The greatest day in Portuguese rugby history, with the likes of Raffaele Storti and Nicolas Martins becoming stars.

2. Australia

For a moment, with Portugal leading Fiji, it looked as if the impossible would happen and that Eddie Jones was playing his get out of jail card. Unfortunately for him, it didn't happen and the Wallabies exited the World Cup pool circuit for the first time. Australia's rise one place is simply a consequence of results elsewhere.

1. Scotland

The dream, no matter how optimistic, was crushed in the most decisive way on Saturday evening. Disaster in Scotland ended their quarter-final hopes. They were, of course, victims of a controversial draw and are a team that is good enough for the quarter-finals, but they were weak in the two deciding matches.