As it stands O’Connell and co. sit seventh in the rankings with the top four the hallowed ground for teams as they look to secure favourable seeding for the 2015 global showdown.

However while the autumn showdowns could be crucial to their World Cup hopes O’Connell is adamant anything other than the task in hand will be the last thing on Ireland’s mind next month.

“I don’t think the ranking points are any motivation for us,” said O’Connell – who is expecting to be back in full contact training this month as he recovers from a back injury.

“When you play South Africa you are playing one of the best teams in the world so you need to make sure you are physically ready.

“It is the same with Argentina, you need to be ready for a massive battle. Things like ranking points you only look at afterwards.

“I think we have played some great rugby over the past year but we haven’t been consistent. You need to have high standards for the whole of November, ranking points are irrelevant it is about maintaining our high standards and getting results.”