D'Arcy hopes fading fast
Gordon D’Arcy’s chances of playing any further part in Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations campaign receded today when coach Eddie O’Sullivan revealed his growing concern over the Leinster centre’s hamstring injury.
D’Arcy limped off in the first half of his side’s opening championship fixture against Italy and despite a spell in a specialist rehabilitation centre in Spala, Poland, he has not figured in Ireland’s Grand Slam bid since.
A run-out for Leinster on the weekend confirmed the 25-year-old is not yet ready to make his Test match return and he has been ruled out of Saturday’s mouth-watering clash with France at Lansdowne Road.
But O’Sullivan’s assessment that D’Arcy might not be fit for the potential Grand Slam decider against Wales on March 19 is a more significant blow, given he is rapidly running out of time to push his claims for British Lions selection.
“I’m worried about Gordon’s availability for the Wales match because his recovery has slowed down so dramatically. The situation is a concern,” said O’Sullivan.
“We were confident last week that he would be fit for France and we thought he would be fine once he got onto the pitch for Leinster. But he didn’t have as much power as he wanted and at that juncture we knew he wasn’t right.
“He had some discomfort in his hamstring and underwent a scan yesterday which revealed some residual scarring that hasn’t cleared up. That’s the reason he hasn’t got full power.
“He’s 95% there but that last 5% is taking a lot longer to heal than expected.
“He hasn’t improved much over the last week. He can run but not at full speed. It’s a Test match so it’s not as if we can throw him in and see what happens.”
D’Arcy’s troublesome hamstring and Shane Horgan’s withdrawal from the squad with a fractured thumb last week has opened the door for Kevin Maggs to win his 68th cap.
The Ulster centre started against Scotland but returned to the bench for the 19-13 victory over England nine days ago when Brian O’Driscoll made his comeback from a hamstring injury.
O’Sullivan said: “There are different dynamics involved when Brian and Kevin are playing together but it’s not as if we’re throwing a rookie into the game. He was a Test regular so it’s a pretty experienced midfield.”
France’s form has been indifferent in this year’s Six Nations – only against Wales in their last championship outing have they shown glimpses of the dazzling rugby which swept to Grand Slam glory last season.
But O’Sullivan knows that should the French reproduce the finer moments of that match for an entire 80 minutes, his side will have to be at their best to remain on course for only the second tournament clean sweep in Irish rugby history.
“France started the tournaent poorly but have improved and that’s because they’ve benefited from playing together and found their best combinations,” he said.
“I expect them to improve again on the Wales performance – maybe they need to prove they can play for the whole game. If they do that it will be very difficult for us because they can play breathtaking rugby at times.”
