[2] When the system was introduced England were the top team and maintained that position following victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
After winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, South Africa became the third team to achieve first place.
A change at the top would not occur for a record period of 508 weeks (from 16 November 2009 to 19 August 2019), when Wales became the top ranked team for the first time after defeating England at Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test in August, following on a streak in which they won 15 of 16 tests, including a Six Nations Grand Slam.
Two weeks later New Zealand returned to the top of the summit following Ireland's victory over Wales in Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test.
England's defeat of New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals saw them return to the top spot for the first time since 2004.
2021 saw the ranking lead change several times with South Africa and New Zealand each holding the top spot at various points.
Ireland would hold the top spot until October 2023, when they lost to New Zealand in the quarter-final stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
South Africa regained the top spot after beating host nation France in the same stage of the world cup.
However, South Africa would relinquish the top spot to Ireland following their away defeat to Argentina in the 2024 Rugby Championship.
Since the rankings began, the winners of every edition of the World Cup have held the number 1 spot at the end of the tournament.
New Zealand retained the number 1 position in August 2019 following defeat by Australia at Perth in the Rugby Championship, despite their ratings falling to 89.04.
A week later, Wales increased their rating to 89.43 and claimed the top spot by beating England at Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test.
New Zealand also holds the record for the highest rating points amassed by any team, which currently stands at 96.57.
England first held the record at 93.99 on the 24 November 2003, following their World Cup win in Australia; however, New Zealand surpassed this on 28 August 2006 with a rating of 94.62, following their Tri Nations victory over South Africa in Pretoria.
New Zealand's defeat by Ireland at Soldier Field, Chicago as part of the Autumn International Test Series in November 2016 ended their record streak.
Below is a list of the most and least accumulated rating points for each of the nations that have appeared in the Rugby World Cup since the ranking tables were first published on the 13 October 2003: Six teams have led the world rankings at one point, of which two had a single short stay at that position - Wales for two weeks in 2019, and France for a single week in 2022.
The exchanges are based on the match result, the ranking of each team, and the margin of victory, with an allowance for home advantage.
As the system aims to depict current team strengths, past successes or losses will fade and be superseded by more recent results.
Points exchanges are doubled during the World Cup Finals to recognise the unique importance of this event.