Two weeks ago, the Boks surrendered the top spot to the All Blacks following a 30-17 defeat to the Wallabies in Brisbane.

While the Springboks were able to win the Rugby Championship, they did manage to break their three-Test losing streak and avoided equaling their record of four straight defeats.

The Boks coach, Jacques Nienaber, lauded his troops.

“I must take my hat off to the squad. I never doubted that they will lose focus. There was a lot of white noise from the outside and the critics were justified.

“I was the first one to say that the second Test against Australia was probably our worst performance since Wales in 2018.

The players never veered off what they were trying to do.”

The Springboks moved up to 91.13 points in the world rankings, installing them as the number ones again. The All Blacks in their turn dropped down to 90.97 points and second in the standings.

The remainder of the top ten is made up of Australia, England, Ireland, France, Scotland, Argentina, Wales and Japan.

The Boks' next assignment will be the End of Year Tour to the UK for Tests against Wales, Scotland and England. The first Test of the End of Year Tour will be on 6 November against the Welsh in Cardiff.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport