In the wake of its World Cup qualification, Canada has moved back into the top 20 of the World Rugby rankings.
The Canadian men climbed one spot to No. 20 at the expense of Spain, which fell to No. 21 after losing 28-10 to No. 16 Samoa.
The top seven were unchanged with No. 1 New Zealand ahead of Ireland, Wales, England, South Africa, Australia and Scotland. Fiji jumped two places to No. 8 after upsetting France 21-14.
France and Argentina dropped one spot to No. 9 and 10, respectively.
Canada was ranked 23rd in the world when it opened play Nov. 11 in a four-team repechage in Marseille, France. Kingsley Jones’ team went on to beat Kenya, Germany and Hong Kong to secure the 20th and last berth at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
The Canadian men were ranked 18th when they faced Ireland, then ranked No. 6, in their opening match at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Canada was trounced 50-7, the first of four straight losses at the tournament.