Australia outcome vital on many levels - Doris

Quilter Nations Series: Ireland v Australia

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 20:10 GMT

Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Sports Extra 2, Radio Ulster, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app; text commentary on the BBC Sport website

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw set for 3 December, Ireland captain Caelan Doris acknowledges their world ranking after the autumn internationals is "massively important".

Ireland have already lost to New Zealand and beaten Japan, and with two games remaining, beginning with Saturday's Test against Australia in Dublin, securing as high a finish as possible could be crucial.

Ireland are currently third behind New Zealand and world champions South Africa in top spot and while they will not move up after this weekend's game, there is a possibility they could be overhauled by England and France.

However, there is more at play for Ireland against the Wallabies this weekend and South Africa next Saturday, as Andy Farrell's side seek to make improvements on two below par showings so far in this series.

Ultimately, they ran out 41-10 winners against Japan in Dublin last weekend, but there are still issues to resolve as they are set to face Joe Schmidt's side.

"The World Cup rankings are done in December, so from that point of view it's massively important, but also in terms of continuing the belief and improvement of the squad," said Doris following the captain's run at Aviva Stadium on Friday.

"In order to get the result, it's got to be process-focused, so that is what we are putting our minds towards.

"There were good bits last week at times, especially in the last 20 or 30 [minutes], but it's consistency defensively and what we are trying to do in attack that has to improve this weekend.

"The line-out has misfired a little bit at times over the last couple of weeks, so that's an area for growth too."

'Performance can inspire passion in the stands'

On Thursday, the south Dublin stadium was the scene of the Republic of Ireland's stirring 2-0 win over Portugal in qualification for football's World Cup which was played out amid a crackling atmosphere.

Doris is hoping for a similar cauldron-like environment on Saturday, but accepts that is only generated by what transpires on the pitch.

"The atmosphere was unbelievable and we'll be looking for something similar, but that comes when there is passion in how they are playing," said the 27-year-old back row.

"You could just see there was no fear in how they played. They just kept attacking and were quite cohesive in that.

"Through how they played, the knock-on reaction came with the supporters. It's a late kick-off for us, so hopefully we can get them going with how we play."

The weather outlook for Dublin leading up to the game does not make for pretty reading with rain forecast from overnight and therefore will likely produce greasy conditions.

Should that transpire, then it will dictate the approach to the game with doing the simple things well and making the most of opportunities crucial, according to the captain.

"Territory becomes more important, discipline becomes more important, set-piece becomes more important, scoreboard pressure and taking points early, but also the mindset around getting stuck in and enjoying it," Doris added.

"The way Australia play, they have the ability with their backs to swing together and take opportunities, but also they play similar to France with that tightish game with their forwards pop passing from the breakdown.

"Regardless of the weather, it's going to be a big focus point for our defence we need to get right."