In my last piece looking at the IRB ranking point scenarios for this spring tour, a key assumption I made was that if the Wallabies lost to France, it would be by less than 15 points — bugger!
So what does that mean for our prospects? Clearly we’ve already lost second spot to South Africa, but what about the permutations following the weekend coming?
Below is a table that summarises the main permutations that can unfold this weekend. Again I’ve assumed wins will be within 15 points and that the Saffas will off the Scots*.
As you can see, any situation in which England win sees the poms leapfrog Australia. Should France win as well, that would push the Wallabies into fifth place.
With the IRB number two ranking being the only thing ARU Chairman Michael Hawker could put a tick beside when appraising Robbie Deans’s record as coach, surely such a slip would be a death knell.
Yet again, it’s all on the line this Saturday.
