IRL World Ranking: Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa move up

South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon have moved up in the IRL World Rankings.
On December 21, 2022, the International Rugby League released the rankings.

Nigeria is the top-ranked team in Africa after moving up from 28th to 24th.

South Africa climbed to the 25th spot from 30th.

Ghana rose five positions, from 31st to 26th. They are now ranked third in Africa.

Cameroon took the fourth spot in Africa after moving up from 36th to 31st.

Kenya is currently ranked fifth in Africa after placing 32nd in the IRL World Ranking. This is the first time they've made it in the Ranking.

Unfortunately, Morocco fell from 33rd to 43rd place. This resulted from the lack of competition participation in 2022. Currently, they are rated fifth in Africa.

According to the International Rugby League, The IRL World Rankings are determined by the following criteria:

Teams are awarded ranking points each time they play a sanctioned international fixture;
- Result and margin: The bigger the win, the more points the winning team receives and the fewer points are awarded to the loser;


- Strength of opponent: The higher the ranking of the opponent the greater the weighting of the result.


- Importance of the match: Games in official competition are weighted higher than bi-lateral arranged games. Rugby League World Cup games carry the greatest weighting, and;



More recent games are weighted higher than older games and only games since the 2017 World Cup are considered.


The rankings reward teams who are active and win games.



Source: International Rugby League