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nations-championship
Heroic victory for Wales 35-28 over All black people in Cardiff on Saturday is being talked about in the same way as the ‘Miracle of Brighton’, when Eddie Jones’ Japan knocked down by the Springboks Rugby World Cup 2015. Played more than a decade apart, it highlights how rare these sorts of results are in modern international rugby.
Japan were 10 places below the Springboks when they pulled off their giant-killing act, while eight places were separated Wales in the 10th of New Zealand in the second before kick-off in Cardiff.
However, in terms of points difference between the sides, it was Wales who had the honor of causing the biggest upset, with 15.89 points between their ranking and the All Blacks, compared to 12.97 between the 2015 protagonists.
For a match involving only the major rugby nations, it is the biggest metric used. But there have been other cases, including teams playing in Rugby World Cups, where the winning team has had to overcome an even bigger deficit.
Fresh from their exploits at RWC 2023, Portugal entered 2024 European Rugby Championship at a high level, albeit with an interim coach in place, and were humbled 10-6 by the side Belgium team took 16 places and 18.20 points below them.
A few years before that, Zimbabwe peeled off from Algeria at the African Cup of Nations, losing 20-12. Zimbabwe entered the match in 31st place with 52.43 points, while Algeria was 76th with 36.25 points, a gap of 45 places and 16.18 points.
During the qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup, Tahiti shocked Cook Islands 13-9 in Rarotonga in August 2017, defying a 43-place deficit and 15.32 point differential.
While the year before that, Brazil opened its America Rugby Championship account with a sensational 24-23 victory over the USA, which entered the match ranked 26 places and 20.55 points higher than Os Tupis.
