Victory by 17-3 may have guaranteed a precious spot among the second seeds for the World Cup draw on December 1, but O'Callaghan is more interested in savouring a treasured Pumas scalp.

“A lot of the players weren't thinking that far ahead to the draw or about the rankings,” said the Ireland lock.

“There's a fair bit of niggle between Argentina and Ireland. Personally I don't like them and they'd probably say the same about me.

“Make no bones about it, when you play them you know it will be tough. I respect them but when you seek their players out after a match they look to keep their own company.

“That's the way it is sometimes in sport. Some fellas you get on with and some you don't. That builds up through games.

“We don't like each other. They don't like us either. They're not totally at fault, at times we've given them reason not to like us.

“It's not one way, the trappiness. We're both passionate about rugby and it's not a bad thing to have teams who care about playing for their country.

“But the dislike does make it more satisfying when we beat them. A few times we've been beaten they've had no problem rubbing it in.

“We wanted to get one up on them.”

Fate has repeatedly matched the nations at pivotal moments, creating the ‘bad blood’ that fly-half Ronan O'Gara has spoken of in the past.

O'Callaghan insists O’Gara’s pre-match comments had the desired effect.

“Ronan is a senior pro and when he comes out with lines like that it forces all of us to up our game. He sets the standard,” said O'Callaghan.

“He led from the front and we have a lot of respect for him. He gave us the kick we needed.

“He wasn't pointing the finger, he was saying it about all of us. The fellas fronted up but we can't just front up for one match.

“Hunger and desire should be non-negotiable when you pull on an Ireland jersey.”