D’Arcy: We’re On The Right Road

Gordon D’Arcy, who won his 51st Ireland cap against the All Blacks, is hoping to shake off a calf injury and play against his former Leinster team-mate, Argentina’s Felipe Contepomi.

The Wexford man is among Ireland’s walking wounded as they prepare for the fourth and final Test of this year’s GUINNESS Series.

“The calf took a knock early on and tightened up but our heads were up and it was not preventing me too much from performing my role with the team,” he said.

“I think the same thing happened to Tommy (Bowe), but sometimes with a knock to the calf, it only really gets bad when you warm down or get cold, so there was very little chance of that happening in the game as it was played at such a good pace.

“I will rest it up and let the medics look after it and hopefully it will come good over the next couple of days.”

Last Saturday’s game represented D’Arcy’s fifth time lining out against New Zealand at Test level, and although it was a familiar result there were plenty of positives to take from Ireland’s display.

“I suppose there were mixed feelings after the game. We were happy that a lot of the things we have been trying to do over the last two weeks started to come off but disappointed at the end that some of our own mistakes allowed New Zealand to capitalise and pull away from us with those quick scores.

“They are very clinical when taking scoring opportunities,” added the 30-year-old centre.

“As Brian (O’Driscoll) said, we put in a performance for 66 minutes or so and had them really hurting, but to get the better of them you need to push it further.

“I think we are getting to that stage, if we keep trying things and working as hard as possible for each other. I don’t think there is a better side in the world at the moment (than New Zealand) in terms of punishing you for any mistakes, but I think we can be positive that we are still on the right road and Saturday showed that.”

Next Sunday’s opponents, Argentina, come into this game on the back of a 15-9 defeat to France in Montpellier. The previous week, they beat Italy 22-16 in Verona.

D’Arcy commented: “Looking at their results, especially the French one at the weekend, it shows what a challenge we have next Sunday.

“Argentina just always seem to make it especially hard to break them down and to run France so close on French soil is a good indicator of what they can bring to the Aviva Stadium.”

Felipe Contepomi captained the Pumas last weekend and kicked three penalties for their only points. His former Leinster colleague aside, D’Arcy knows that Santiago Phelan’s side will carry a threat up front and out wide.

“It will be good to catch up with Felipe both on and off the pitch. From what I have seen, he has been going really well with Toulon and seems to be bringing that sort of form onto the international stage.

“It just shows what a great talent he is and that he is still a big player for Argentina.

“They might be missing (Juan Martin) Hernandez, but they have Felipe there pulling the strings alongside the other experienced players for them like (Mario) Ledesma, (Juan Martin) Fernandez Lobbe, (Gonzalo) Tiesi and (Patricio) Albacete.

“It shows that it is a quality Argentina team and we expect a challenge right across the park from them.”