Version française

Pos	Country	Points		Matches	% vict.	Ave. Score	Since Jan 01, 1999
1	New Zealand	10.00		52	77%	41-18		+ 1 (+0.22)
2	South Africa	9.40		62	77%	34-17		- 1 (-0.60)
3	Australia	9.37		57	70%	31-18		(+0.22)
4	France	8.29		63	68%	30-20		(-0.50)
5	England	8.26		55	62%	30-20		(+0.11)
6	Wales	7.51		57	51%	26-27		+ 1 (+0.43)
7	Scotland	7.22		51	49%	28-24		+ 3 (+0.76)
8	Fiji	7.16		32	56%	28-26		+ 3 (+0.79)
9	Argentina	7.00		57	47%	31-28		(+0.19)
10	Samoa	6.92		30	43%	23-28		- 2 (+0.08)
11	Ireland	6.56		47	34%	22-27		+ 2 (+0.47)
12	Italy	6.30		45	42%	29-33		- 6 (-0.82)
13	Tonga	6.24		31	42%	22-32		+ 2 (+0.69)
14	Canada	6.11		48	48%	25-25		- 2 (-0.21)
15	Russia	5.62		21	71%	31-19		+ 5 (+0.80)
16	Japan	5.61		44	43%	29-33		+ 5 (+0.90)
17	Roumania	5.58		35	29%	25-37		- 3 (-0.25)
18	United States	5.51		42	36%	23-28		(+0.74)
19	Namibia	5.38		19	63%	23-26		- 3 (-0.04)
20	Uruguay	5.28		27	33%	19-31		+ 10 (+1.45)
21	Hong Kong	5.21		30	47%	24-26		- 4 (+0.11)
22	Georgia	4.80		16	56%	19-23		+ 2 (+0.44)
23	Spain	4.79		30	57%	27-25		- 4 (+0.06)
24	Ukraine	4.78		16	69%	28-18		- 2 (+0.17)
25	Croatia	4.65		13	77%	29-15		(+0.41)
26	Morocco	4.58		19	53%	14-15		(+0.53)
27	South Korea	4.48		18	44%	30-28		+ 2 (+0.59)
28	Chili	4.40		8	25%	15-33		+ 8 (+1.37)
29	Tunisia	4.37		18	44%	17-16		- 2 (+0.40)
30	Switzerland	4.31		5	60%	18-12		+ 8 (+1.49)
31	Netherlands	4.24		25	48%	20-25		- 8 (-0.21)
32	Zimbabwe	4.15		16	25%	20-27		- 4 (+0.19)
33	Portugal	4.12		26	46%	20-31		- 1 (+0.50)
34	Germany	4.11		21	43%	17-18		+ 1 (+1.03)
35	Arabian Gulf	3.82		4	75%	33-13		- 4 (+0.16)
36	Kenya	3.50		4	25%	12-43		+ 6 (+1.36)
37	Czech Rep.	3.47		23	26%	17-26		+ 2 (+0.70)
38	Ivory Coast	3.34		6	0%	7-39		- 5 (-0.10)
39	Poland	3.26		24	38%	21-30		- 5 (-0.03)
40	Denmark	2.87		19	32%	12-27		+ 4 (+1.12)
41	Sweden	2.78		7	29%	21-21		+ 2 (+0.73)
42	Israel	2.63		6	33%	13-24		- 1 (+0.26)
43	Belgium	2.54		19	21%	15-32		- 3 (+0.04)
44	Lithuania	2.48		9	44%	12-18		- 7 (-0.46)
45	Slovenia	1.92		3	33%	19-30		+ 2 (+0.65)
46	Moldavia	1.72		8	13%	5-29		- 1 (+0.27)
47	Andorra	1.67		9	33%	18-32		- 1 (+0.33)
48	Sri Lanka	0.79		5	0%	8-80		(+0.10)
49	Luxembourg	0.50		13	0%	9-26		(+0.11)
50	Hungary	0.00		7	29%	12-26		(+0.00)

T he rankings above have been calculated on the basis of all matches played by the 50 best nations during the past 64 months, from October 1994 through November 6th, 1999. In total, 651 matches were used to produce the rankings. The 50 best teams were selected out of more than 70, with nearly 700 matches played by all nations surveyed.

A ustralia, even though the world champions, remains third in the rankings despite an impressive improvement in their scores. There are several reasons for this. First, the Australians often fail to play at the level expected of them: In both the Tri-Nations and in the matches played against Ireland and England they have not played as well as they did in recent weeks. Second, the Australians do not exhibit the consistency of the South Africans or the New Zealanders, managing only to win 70% if their matches, compared to the 77% of the Springboks and the All Blacks, even though their performance during the World Cup places the Wallabies on an even keel with the Springboks. (It will be interesting to see who wins the next match - the winner should take - or retain - second place in the rankings.)

F ollowing the leaders, France has succeeded in overtaking England and is now leading by a whisker after their victory over the All Blacks in the semifinal. The difference between the French and Australian teams nonetheless remains sizeable (8.29 and 9.37 points, respectively). France will have to play in a more consistent fashion if it is to give the Tri-Nations reason for concern.

N ew Zealand remains the master of the past five years with an impressive average score of 41-18 for its last fifty-two matches. It should be noted that among the top ten are found six teams from the Southern Hemisphere and only four from the North. Among the first twenty teams in these rankings are found the twenty teams that had qualified for the World Cup, with the single exception of Spain (23rd), whose place is occupied by Russia (15th).

English version by Maurice Valmont