 When the World Rankings were introduced in October 2003 , England was ranked 1st . They briefly fell to 2nd in September that year before regaining 1st place . They fell to 2nd , and then to 3rd in June 2004 . After the 2005 Six Nations they fell to 6th where they remained until they moved into 5th in December that year . In 2006 , their ranking again fell and they finished the year ranked 7th . 2007 saw them bounce back to 3rd after their good run in that year 's World Cup , where they finished Runners Up . In 2008 , their rankings slipped so that during the 2009 Six Nations Championship they dropped to their lowest ranking of 8th . They again were 8th during the autumn internationals of the same year . After a resurgence which saw them rise to a ranking of 4th in the world , the team again slipped , following a poor showing at the 2011 Rugby World Cup , and was ranked 6th in February 2012 . England entered the 2015 Rugby World Cup ranked 4th . However , after failing to exit the pool stage , England were ranked 8th in the world as of 1 November 2015 . 
