IRELAND’S RECENT WIN over Australia saw the team jump to sixth place in the IRB World Rankings and now, subsequent victories over Italy and Russia has seen them leapfrog France into fifth place.
Now only New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and England stand between Ireland and the coveted first spot.
France, in contrast, fall to eight position – their lowest ranking ever.
Marc Lièvremont’s men are now only one place above Tonga, who beat them at the weekend.
The ranking system was introduced in 2003 and has been used to seed competitions such as the Rugby World Cup since 2007.