IRELAND WILL DROP from third to fourth in the official World Rugby rankings when the governing body updates the standings on Monday.

Joe Schmidt’s men could have taken over as world number one if things had gone very differently at Twickenham today, but they were unceremoniously beaten off the path to that perch by a powerful English display that yielded a record-breaking 57-15 win for the home side.

England went into their third Rugby World Cup warm-up match in the knowledge that only a convincing win would be enough to overtake Ireland in the rankings. And they powered through the 15-point margin with eight tries to inflict a humbling defeat on Ireland – who won a Grand Slam and ascended to second in the world on their last visit to the venue.

Ireland’s loss means Wales remain the number one team in the world after they pulled ahead of New Zealand last week. England’s rise from fifth to third means South Africa dip down to fifth.

Ireland’s first opponents in World Cup Pool A, Scotland, recorded a 17-14 win over France in Murrayfield. That outcome will move Gregor Townsend’s men into seventh and France into eighth.

Les Bleus will go to Japan to compete in Pool C where they will take on Argentina on opening weekend before closing the group stage against England in Yokohama.

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