By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
France moved up to fourth in the latest World Rugby rankings following their 30-24 Six Nations victory over Ireland in Paris.
The Irish dropped two places to fifth, allowing England – who beat Italy 33-0 in Rome – to move to third spot behind New Zealand (No 2) and South Africa (No 1).
The French are the only team with two wins from the opening two rounds of Six Nations action and remain on course for a first championship and Grand Slam since 2010.
Further improvement in the rankings is possible over the coming weeks as England are only a third of a rating point better off than them in third.
With two away games against Scotland and Wales coming up – and a home date with England to finish off the Six Nations – France will have opportunities to make up further ground. Les Bleus were last ranked second in the world in October 2007 when they hosted the Rugby World Cup.
Scotland had gone ahead of Australia in the rankings after beating England at Twickenham, but they have now returned to their-pre-Six Nations placing of seventh.
Wales have remained in eighth place following their win, although they have considerably closed the gap between themselves and Scotland, while also putting some distance between themselves and ninth-ranked Argentina.
1. South Africa (N/C) – 90.61
2. New Zealand (N/C) – 88.75
3. England (+1) – 86.66
4. France (+1) – 86.36
5. Ireland (-2) – 86.00
6. Australia (+1) – 83.92
7. Scotland (-1) – 83.23
8. Wales (N/C) – 82.25
9. Argentina (N/C) – 80.58
10. Japan (N/C) – 78.26.