Ireland will go top of the official World Rugby rankings this weekend if they can cap off their Test series against New Zealand with a win.
While the prospect of a first ever series win in New Zealand is enough motivation for Andy Farrell's side, it's been confirmed that they will overtake France this weekend if they can back-up last week's win in Dunedin with another in Wellington tomorrow.
Last week, the Six Nations champions went to number one in the world for the first time since the official rankings were introduced in 2003, following their 20-15 win against Japan in Tokyo, while Ireland leapfrogged South Africa into second due to their respective wins and defeats.
But with France now finished their Test campaign for the summer, World Rugby confirmed that an Irish victory in Wellington would see France's time atop the rankings short-lived, while Ireland would also move from 88.79 rankings points to above 90 for the very first time.
Ireland's only other time as world number one came in September 2019, when they spent a fortnight leading the rankings shortly before the start of their ill-fated Rugby World Cup campaign.
Defeat for Ireland would likely see them swap places with New Zealand in fourth, although in the event that South Africa suffer a surprise heavy defeat to Wales in their third Test, Ireland could end the week in third place.
The All Blacks could drop to a new low of fifth if they lose by more than 15 points, depending on the results in South Africa and Australia.
Ireland completed their captain's run at the Sky Stadium in Wellington this morning, with no apparent injury worries, heading into their Test series decider against the All Blacks.
The All Blacks are reportedly sweating on the fitness of forward Scott Barrett on the eve of the game.
While the versatile Crusaders forward was named in the back row by head coach Ian Foster yesterday, he had reportedly been dealing with a knee injury this week which has seen his training limited.
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