Rankings count nothing for Sexton as Ireland wary of 'unpredictable' Willemse

Ireland need to emulate their opponents this weekend South Africa and win the Rugby World Cup if they are to merit being called the best team in the world, captain Johnny Sexton said on Tuesday. 

The 37-year-old iconic fly-half inspired his side to a historic series win in New Zealand in July, which saw them rise to the top of the rankings. 

"Honestly, it's not something that we really talk about much," Sexton told reporters. 

"It's not a goal to become number one in the world. That might sound stupid. 

"In some sports it is -- golf, tennis -- but in rugby the rankings matter once, and it's three years out from the World Cup (needing to be in the top eight for the pool draw) when they matter, which doesn't make that much sense either. 

"We don't speak about being number one. 

"To be number one in the world, you need to win the World Cup, that's where the goals are." 

Sexton said only trophies counted -- he was pivotal to the 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam triumph -- even if other teams might try and talk up Ireland being number one. 

"Obviously you want to be the best in Europe, you want to win the Six Nations, those are our goals," said. 

"It's nothing to do with being number one, and I don't think many teams read too much into it. 

"I know the other teams will probably refer to us now, trying to put pressure on us, but we don't speak about it." 

He's unpredictable

Sexton said they would give South Africa "the respect they deserve" and admitted there is a target on Ireland's back after their success in New Zealand. 

"When you have a couple of results like we did in the summer, teams start properly look at you and they go, 'how are we going to mess up this Ireland team? How are we combat this?'," he said. 

"We've got to do it better and