Although the IRB produce a complex and continually updated ranking for men's international rugby they do not compile any ranking system for the women's game. Rugby statistician Serge Piquet has produced a currently unofficial, but generally accepted, world ranking, but where rankings are referred to by some boards these will normally be the finishing positions in the previous Women's Rugby World Cup (which only takes place every four years and will only include those countries that qualified for the finals).
The IRB's seedings for each World Cup are also influenced by positions in the previous tournament, but not entirely decided by them. The table below shows the final positions for the 2010 tournament and is therefore the closest thing to an "official" IRB ranking:
| Rank | 2010 position |
|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand |
| 2 | England |
| 3 | Australia |
| 4 | France |
| 5 | United States |
| 6 | Canada |
| 7 | Ireland |
| 8 | Scotland |
| 9 | Wales |
| 10 | South Africa |
| 11 | Kazakhstan |
| 12 | Sweden |
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“My men have become women, but the women men.”
—Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)
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—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
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—Donald C. Medeiros (20th century)
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—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)