The World Rugby World Ranking List (until 2014 IRB World Ranking List ) is the official world ranking list for rugby union national teams, which is maintained by the World Rugby Association (formerly the International Rugby Board , IRB for short). It was first published in September 2003 and enables the strength of internationally active teams to be determined and compared at regular intervals.
The ranking list, which is usually updated weekly, is calculated using a "point exchange" system in which one team takes away points from the other. The number of points traded is based on the game result, the relative strength of both teams and the amount of victory. The home advantage is also taken into account. The system has been designed in such a way that the importance of games that have been in the past decreases continuously and the current results are given greater weighting. During the rugby union world championships , the number of points to be awarded is doubled in order to underline the outstanding importance of this competition, whereby the world champion usually also becomes first in the world rankings after the end of the tournament. Every member of World Rugby is rated with 0 to 100 points. The best placed team usually has a rating of over 90 points.