The 25 Best Rugby Clubs In The World On April 23 | FloRugby Rankings
The 25 Best Rugby Clubs In The World On April 23 | FloRugby Rankings
Discover FloRugby's latest power rankings of the top 25 rugby clubs worldwide as of April 23, featuring Leinster, Toulouse, Crusaders, Bath and more.
As the business end of the rugby season approaches, the cream of the global crop are separating themselves from the chasing pack — and this month’s FloRugby Top 25 is stacked with powerhouse form and playoff implications.
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Leinster is in a league of its own, surging toward another URC-Champions Cup double threat, while Toulouse remains an ominous contender, despite key absences.
Bordeaux is riding lightning on the wings of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and Bath has made the Premiership its playground.
The Crusaders and Chiefs continue their jostle for southern supremacy, while the Bulls’ controversial stunner in Limerick sends shockwaves through the URC.
From French finesse to South African steel, and Kiwi muscle to Premiership precision, these 25 clubs are locked in a global sprint toward silverware.
Buckle up — the knockout stretch is here, and only the ruthless will rise.
1. Leinster Rugby | 20-1-0
Marching toward an inevitable deep playoff run in the URC to go with what feels destined to be another Champions Cup final appearance, the men in blue are starting to put distance between themselves and the field in a major way at just the right time.
Dan Sheehan’s hat trick was worth the admission alone for the Aviva Stadium crowd.
2. Toulouse | 20-5-1
Morphing into a Route 1 first team without Antoine Dupont and Ange Capuozzo’s stardust, the reigning Top 14 and Champions Cup title holders are firmly in the running for a double retention in what would be their most impressive season to date.
3. Union Bordeaux-Begles | 21-6-0
When the going gets tough, UBB relies on its electric outside backs, namely Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who scored yet again at a crucial point with his side trailing Pau.
On a side note, Joey Carbery clearly is UBB’s form fly-half, which could lead to interesting selection conversations with Matthieu Jalibert.
4. Bath Rugby | 15-5-0
Rubber stamping itself as the cream of the crop in the Premiership in edging past Exeter on the road to all but secure top spot heading into the semifinals.
5. Crusaders | 7-2-0
Hiding in the long grass and ready to bounce, the Saders downed the Blues with a last-minute James O’Connor penalty for what felt like a statement win.
Sitting in second on the overall table, the men from Christchurch feel better suited to knockout footy than their Chief rivals.
6. Chiefs | 7-2-0
Getting back on the horse with a 46-10 beatdown of the Highlanders, any agitation in Hamilton was put to rest.
Still, their loss at the hands of the Waratahs a week prior did raise questions around the ability to avoid off days.
For now, they remain in pole position to put the hurt of last season to bed once and for all.
7. Toulon | 18-9-0
Gliding past Clermont with a dominant first half, Toulon was held scoreless in the second half, but just about held on for the win.
Still susceptible to switching off for blocks of time, the former Galactico club will need to tighten up if it has designs on the Top 14 title.
8. Glasgow Warriors | 14-7-0
Still looking rather shellshocked from their shellacking at the hands of Leinster, the URC champions made hard work of Zebre.
Ultimately, they downed the plucky Italians, but with injuries mounting, the wheels appear to be falling off for the Glaswegians.
9. Aviron Bayonne | 15-11-0
It was always going to happen; La Rochelle found its groove and picked up a much-needed one-point win. Unfortunately, Bayonne was the side that copped the loss, but does remain in the top 4, albeit there now is zero margin for error.
10. Vodacom Bulls | 13-8-0
Completing a clean sweep of Irish provinces for the season, the Bulls beating Munster at Thomond Park is a major feather in the cap for Jake White’s side.
It is fair to wonder if the result would’ve been different had it not been for quite possibly the biggest referee blunder since Craig Joubert robbed Scotland of a semifinal appearance at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
In simple terms, Andrea Piardi and his officials incorrectly forced Munster to play with 14 men for 14 minutes due to a mishap in their interpretation of the rugby laws.
In addition to this blunder, the Bulls' only try should’ve been deemed a knock-on, as Cameron Hanekom tapped the ball off his knee.
Alas, it worked out for the Pretoria side, which is firmly locked into the top 4.
11. Lyon | 15-10-2
Steady Eddy continues to produce.
Lyon picked up where it left off in the Challenge Cup.
Lyon saw off Montpellier in a key playoff-race battle, which gave the winners a little bit of breathing room ahead of Clermont and La Rochelle.
12. Brumbies | 6-3-0
Quite clearly the class of the Aussie conference, the Brumbies kept a dangerous Moana Pasifika side scoreless.
This result further highlighted that Stephen Larkham’s men can win a multitude of styles, depending on the situation.
13. Leicester Tigers | 10-7-1
Claiming second place on the table, the Tigers showed their class with a comprehensive beating of the Bristol Bears.
Possessing a pack physical enough to match Bath, and a backline with threats all over the park, the Tigers certainly are the West Country's biggest rivals for the title this season.
14. Sale Sharks | 11-7-0
Similar to the Tigers, Alex Sanderson’s Sharks are a physical behemoth with the Curry Twins their primary weapons.
Locking down the Sharks scrum, young prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour might just be the best front forward prospect in pro rugby.
15. Saracens | 10-9-0
Currently sitting on the outside looking in, courtesy of points difference, the North Londoners are a side nobody would want to see in the knockout stages.
Knocking Gloucester off its perch with relative ease, we have a feeling Sarries will overhaul Bristol for a spot in the top 4.
16. Castres Olympique | 14-10-2
Another week, another home win.
If Castres can overtake Bayonne and lock in a home match in the first round of the playoffs, the team could get on a roll.
To get to that point,t the squad likely will need to beat at least one of Toulouse or Bordeaux on the road before the regular season ends.
17. Queensland Reds | 5-3-0
On a bye week last time out, they will host the reigning champions, the Blues, in what is the pick of the round for Super Rugby in Week 11.
18. Northampton Saints | 10-9-0
Scrapping by Newcastle by a point, the Saints had to rely on their big guns from the bench, namely Fin Smith.
Their Premiership title defense is over, so it will be interesting to see if they rest key players ahead of their clash with Leinster in the Champions Cup semifinals.
19. Western Force | 4-4-0
Securing a draw with the Hurricanes, who had been picking up momentum with two monster wins in their previous three outings, was a good result for the Perth side.
Again, their defense is getting better, while their attack has slightly cooled.
20. Munster Rugby | 10-11-0
Not wanting to delve back into the refereeing debacle, Munster put its hands up for a subpar performance.
Played in brutally tough conditions on the back of two tough Champions Cup matches, playing a man down for a large chunk of their match made a difference.
Crucially, it has all but ended the team's hopes of a top-4 spot and likely means a really challenging Champions Cup pool next season.
21. Edinburgh Rugby | 11-10-0
Edinburgh was denied another big win, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks breaking the team's heart with an overtime try by Makazole Mapimpi.
Instead, the Scottish capital side dropped out of the top 8 and now faces an almighty challenge to get back into playoff contention.
22. DHL Stormers | 8-11-0
The Stormers are counting their lucky stars that a late Connacht try was chalked off.
Clearly furious post-match, the usually calm and composed John Dobson could not hide his frustration that his side had found itself in such a tight situation.
Now holding onto eighth place, the former champions will need to tidy up their defense to be challengers for the remainder of the season.
Focusing on the positives, fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was unplayable, scoring a 27-minute hat trick of tries.
The Bok fly-half truly was world-class. If he can click alongside the other electric Stormers backline, they will challenge any defense in the competition.
23. Benetton Rugby | 10-9-1
Locking in a big-time win on the road, the Italian side is sitting pretty in fifth position and will be confident that it can upset the Stormers in the next round.
Downing the Lions at a canter, Benetton looked sharp with the ball in hand.
Physically, the pack was exceptional, which will give the team huge confidence ahead of the brutally tough final three rounds.
24. Bristol Bears | 9-9-0
Slipping up against the Tigers, the Bears' fast start to the season has started to veer off course in an alarming way.
Similar to other Pat Lam teams, this Bears side plays a beautiful brand of rugby.
Whether it will be enough to win a title remains to be seen. At the present moment, we are leaning toward a late-season slide.
25. Cardiff Rugby | 8-11-1
Smoking the Ospreys for a big-time ‘Judgment Day’ win at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, put aside the off-field chaos surrounding the club for the time being.
The win sent the Blues back up the table into sixth place ahead of a crunch clash with Munster, which will be make-or-break for both sides.
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