Fijiana's first-ever Rugby World Cup victory has catapulted them into the top 20 of the World Rugby Women’s Rankings powered by Capgemini.
Having picked up four rating points for their 21-17 victory against South Africa on Sunday, the tournament debutants are now up to 16th, an improvement of five places.
To underline how far they have come in a short space of time, Fiji entered the rankings at number 32 when they were first introduced in February 2016.
A first ever Women's Rugby World Cup win doesn't just happen
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 16, 2022
This is the story of how @fijirugby fought against prejudice to show the world what they could do on the global stage#RWC2021 | #LetsPlayFiji pic.twitter.com/LdSBKWzzN9
South Africa, meanwhile, have fallen by a couple of places to 13th with Spain and Japan - despite the Sakura Fifteens’ 30-17 loss to USA - each moving up one place as a result.
Neither of the top two, England and New Zealand, received any additional points for their respective victories over France and Wales.
But third-placed Canada have closed the gap on the Black Ferns to just 1.74 points after they saw off the challenge of in-form Italy by winning 22-12.
Australia gained three-quarters of a point after they came back from 12-0 down to beat Scotland 14-12. The Wallaroos stay seventh but are just 0.34 of a point behind USA.
In addition to the six second-round matches at Rugby World Cup 2021, there was one Rugy Africa Women’s Cup 2022 match to factor into the equation.
Tunisia beat Senegal 24-7 and climb two places to a new high of 29th, above Madagascar and Kenya. The defeat sees Senegal fall two places to 35th.
