Wales celebrate their Triple Crown-clinching victory over England on Saturday © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

News: New faces on Rugby World Cup board

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: England | Wales

England's hopes of securing a top seeding for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw later this year suffered a major setback with defeat to Wales in their Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

The defending champions' 19-12 defeat has seen them drop to sixth in the International Rugby Board rankings and they now face a huge task to claim a priceless top four spot before the end of the year. The ranking would see them avoid the top three sides in the world in the pool draw for the latest global showpiece that will be staged in England.

In contrast, Wales' Triple Crown-clinching triumph sees them leap-frog England into fifth place - behind World Cup champions New Zealand, Tri-Nations holders Australia, fellow Six Nations rivals France and South Africa. World Cup finalists France cemented their place in the top four and remained on course for a Grand Slam showdown with Wales next month with a 23-17 victory over Scotland who have not improved on their current all-time low ranking of 11th.

England's remaining Six Nations fixtures against France and Ireland appear their best chance of boosting their rankings with the side facing a three-Test series in South Africa later this year and end of year internationals against New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.

England's chances of winning the Webb Ellis Trophy on home soil - the target that will be set for the new permanent national coach - would be hit if they missed out on a place in the top four.

New chief executive Ian Ritchie, who will officially begin work today, has plenty of important RFU governance issues waiting in his in-tray but his first major job will be to oversee the appointment Martin Johnson's permanent successor with interviews set to begin after the Six Nations.