Overview
- World Rugby announced the change on Friday, June 19 and said it will take effect from July 1 for both men’s and women’s rankings.
- Under the old system the designated home team received a three-rating-point adjustment for calculation purposes, which reduced the ranking gain for home wins and increased the penalty for home losses.
- The removal applies across major competitions and host unions, including men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups, the Pacific Nations Cup, the WXV Global Series and the World Rugby Nations Cup.
- World Rugby pointed to specific cases that motivated the change, such as Fiji’s designated ‘home’ Nations Championship matches in the UK and Japan’s match with Ireland in Australia, and reporting notes about 20 neutral internationals scheduled through 2026 including South Africa v New Zealand in Baltimore.
- The immediate effect will show in July fixtures and centralised series, and World Rugby said the update could alter how results move rating points with possible impacts on the current rankings order led by South Africa.