By Brendan Cole

Ireland have risen to third place in the IRB world rankings due to results in other matches this weekend.

Ireland, ranked fifth before the weekend, beat Georgia 49-7 at Aviva Stadium on Sunday but gained no ranking points for that result as the gap between the sides was too great to affect Ireland’s points total.

But defeats suffered by England and Australia saw both of those sides lose world ranking points and drop below Ireland in the table.

France beat Australia 29-26 in Paris, while South Africa resisted an England comeback to win 28-31 at Twickenham.

Ireland are now ranked behind New Zealand, who remain in the top spot after securing an unconvincing 16-24 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, with South Africa in second place.

Ireland have been ranked third on two previous occasions, in 2003 and 2006, but have never risen higher.