Scotland head coach Andy Robinson saluted his players' hunger to improve after their shock victory over South Africa propelled them to their highest world ranking.
"What pleases me is the attitude and determination of our squad to keep improving," Robinson told.
"You climb the world rankings by winning games and it is very important that we build on Saturday's result by delivering again when we face very tough opponents in Samoa in Aberdeen on Saturday."
Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Gordon McKie added: "I am delighted for Andy and the players who put so much into Saturday's win against the world champions South Africa.
"A winning national team lifts Scotland as a nation, and it helps us all to build upon the recent success we've achieved with increased playing numbers across all levels of the game."
Scotland V Wales Hospitality
South Africa has fallen to third behind New Zealand and Australia while England and France occupy the other top five places.
Scotland has had a fantastic season so far. They were unlucky to lose against Wales in the Six Nations and their most disappointing result came against the Italians in a 16-12 defeat the same tournament.
Since then, Scotland recorded an impressive draw with England before they visited Dublin to deny Ireland a Triple Crown.
However, a poor display against the All Blacks ended their run of four unbeaten games. Scotland was thrashed 49-3 by an impressive New Zealand team.
The Scots bounced back with a well earned victory against South Africa at the weekend. Speaking at a press conference, the Scottish coach Andy Robinson said, "What pleases me is the attitude and determination of our squad to keep improving."
Scotland defence coach Graham Steadman also hailed the record position in the rankings.
"We want to be one of the best teams in world rugby and it builds confidence ahead of next year's World Cup," he told BBC Scotland
"The win over South Africa highlighted how tight-knit the group is. It could have been quite easy to press the panic button but all credit to the boys."