France go second in test rankings

With the completion of the Six Nations last weekend, the world of?˜women??s international rugby is about to switch tack again back to sevens with the upcoming Hong Kong and China WSWS tournaments. So now is a good time to take a look at how one of the most exciting Six Nations we have ever seen has changed the rankings ()..

The big gainers the month are France, Ireland and Switzerland.

The French move into second place in the table. Their lead over New Zealand is small, however, and the Black Ferns will almost certainly regain second place, and may even challenge for top spot, after their tests in June. However, for now France are riding higher in women??s rugby rankings than they have for more than a decade.

Ireland continued their rise from last month and move into an unprecedented fourth place. Narrow away defeats to higher ranked England and France, and an impressive victory over Italy, move them above Canada ?? though the Canadians (and the USA) will have a chance to reclaim that position at the CanAm series in April.

The fourth-to-sixth place is incredibly tight, a situation that is likely to be repeated at the World Cup where these three teams - plus possibly Australia - will be fighting for a place in the semi-finals.

Wales also slip back above Italy, thanks to their win over Scotland last weekend, but the biggest gainers overall this month are Switzerland who leap from 26 to 23, overtaking Singapore, Uganda and China after their impressive win over Finland. On current form the Swiss will almost certainly be challenging for place in the top 20 by the end of the year.

Elsewhere Scotland just hang on to a position in the top 10, but with no more games planned until 2015, and with all three teams below them playing in the World Cup in August, it is a position that they are unlikely to maintain.

???˜?˜Serge PIQUET -?˜Mars 2014 /?˜March 2014?˜

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