Gordon D'Arcy

[jezzer]

I can't help but feel that the benchmark for some of our most popular players is that they just don't have to be bad. So long as they're not totally stinking up the joint, picking them is fine. D'Arcy has a persistent groin issue. If he was fit for the ABs, he's fit for the Wallabies. Wallace was fit for the ABs (probably fitter than D'Arcy) so please don't buy into Kidney's player protection spin.

I agree with player loyalty. I agree with rewarding players who have proven themselves on the top stage, who have shown they respond when the chips are down. Just not in the absence of results on the pitch.

The ABs game wasn't one of D'Arcy's worst games lately, in my opinion. So I'm not basing this on one game.

Here are the players I've questioned the selection of in the recent past for Leinster/Ireland - Kearney, Berne, POD, TOL, D'Arcy, CJ VDL, ROG, Shaggy, Stephen Keogh. (I'm not sure I was fair on Berne - judged him early in the season. Though he's still not a threat with ball in hand or dominant enough in defence for 12)

Here are the non-core players whose inclusion for Leinster/Ireland I have been championing over the last few seasons: Fitz, Sexton, Court, P. Wallace, Trimble, Henry, Leo, Hurley.

You might not agree with any or all of those, but I don't think you could consider either group to be unreasonable. I don't like to see criticism of player for criticism's sake, but the green jersey is a top honour in the sport that should be earned. I think a few players are wearing it more out of habit than deserving it.

[BlueBlue]

I don't understand how measured analysis of a player that doesn't show him in glowing terms is "unreasonable", "running him down" or "harsh". That's just homerism. If you're going to say x player from y team isn't great, you have to be able to say it for your own team's players. If you don't agree with me, fine. But D'Arcy is not above criticism, for Ireland or Leinster.

I agree. But throw away statements like D'acry does not deserve a place on Leinsters starting XV is daft. Thats my opinion. I also dont see how you could call it constructive.

[ceemec]

I agree. But throw away statements like D'acry does not deserve a place on Leinsters starting IX is daft. Thats my opinion. I also dont see how you could call it constructive.

If rugby becomes a 9 a side game, I think he'll struggle to get a start alright.

In fairness, I don't think Jezzer is too wide of the mark. McFadden came in and did a good job last season despite me being rather sceptical. He's quite a similar player to Darce in my opinion. We've backs coming out our ears and next season I think the old reliables will come under more and more pressure. To be blunt, Shaggy won't be in our first choice 15. There's a chance he won't be in the 22. Darce will be another year older and the competition will increase. After Shaggy, he's probably the next most vulnerable back in my opinion. With the likes of Conway coming in Schmidt might want to have a look at Iosa in a more central role given his previous knowledge of him at the Blues and give Conway a run on the wing. Fitz will be back also who has played 12 at HEC and international level. Darce did not have a great season. We can dress it up whatever way we want but he was not making the plays he did in previous years. He's certainly still capable of it as we've seen in glimpses but he has made more errors. He has looked off the boil and been anonymous a fair few times. Hopefully, Schmidt's arrival will spark a resurgence in his performances.

[BlueBlue]

I can't help but feel that the benchmark for some of our most popular players is that they just don't have to be bad. So long as they're not totally stinking up the joint, picking them is fine. D'Arcy has a persistent groin issue. If he was fit for the ABs, he's fit for the Wallabies. Wallace was fit for the ABs (probably fitter than D'Arcy) so please don't buy into Kidney's player protection spin.

I agree with player loyalty. I agree with rewarding players who have proven themselves on the top stage, who have shown they respond when the chips are down. Just not in the absence of results on the pitch.

The ABs game wasn't one of D'Arcy's worst games lately, in my opinion. So I'm not basing this on one game.

Here are the players I've questioned the selection of in the recent past for Leinster/Ireland - Kearney, Berne, POD, TOL, D'Arcy, CJ VDL, ROG, Shaggy, Stephen Keogh. (I'm not sure I was fair on Berne - judged him early in the season. Though he's still not a threat with ball in hand or dominant enough in defence for 12)

Here are the non-core players whose inclusion for Leinster/Ireland I have been championing over the last few seasons: Fitz, Sexton, Court, P. Wallace, Trimble, Henry, Leo, Hurley.

You might not agree with any or all of those, but I don't think you could consider either group to be unreasonable. I don't like to see criticism of player for criticism's sake, but the green jersey is a top honour in the sport that should be earned. I think a few players are wearing it more out of habit than deserving it.

I have no problem with Wallace being picked over D'arcy for this game. But I dont agree that D'arcy has had a terrible season. Thats my opinion and I dont care if you agree or not. I just felt compelled to offer a different view because I find the one offered by you as ridiculous. Constructive criticism is fine, but throw away statements such as D'arcy does not merrit a place on Leinster starting 15 with no other analysis or reason for why is far fetched.

Also I do not think that its good enough for players to be not bad, I just dont think they need to be the best player bar none in each position. They dont have to be perfect. Flankers will give away penalties as it is the nature of the position, when lineouts are not won it is not always the hookers fault, when tackles are missed there can be reasons why other than the player not deserving his starting place. Its a complex game with many reasons for stuff not working out. I not looking to win an argument here as I know you know your rugby, I just have a different view on the crticism players get.

I also would have concerns over shaggy , Rog , TOL and Van DL.

[BlueBlue]

I agree. But throw away statements like D'acry does not deserve a place on Leinsters starting IX is daft. Thats my opinion. I also dont see how you could call it constructive.

If rugby becomes a 9 a side game, I think he'll struggle to get a start alright.

In fairness, I don't think Jezzer is too wide of the mark. McFadden came in and did a good job last season despite me being rather skeptical. He's quite a similar player to Darce in my opinion. We've backs coming out our ears and next season I think the old reliables will come under more and more pressure. To be blunt, Shaggy won't be in our first choice 15. There's a chance he won't be in the 22. Darce will be another year older and the competition will increase. After Shaggy, he's probably the next most vulnerable back in my opinion. With the likes of Conway coming in Schmidt might want to have a look at Iosa in a more central role given his previous of him at the Blues and give Conway a run on the wing. Fitz will be back also who has played 12 at HEC and international level. Darce did not have a great season. We can dress it up whatever way we want but he was not making the plays he did in previous years. He's certainly still capable of it as we've seen in glimpses but he has made more errors. He has looked off the boil and been anonymous a fair few times. Hopefully, Schmidt's arrival will spark a resurgence in his performances.

Sorry, thats xv !

Fair enough, if we have better players we should start them. But I hate the attitude that we only need the 1st choice player in each position, we need three players for each position. In my view that means two interchangable 1st choice players and a back up who maybe a lesser player than the other 2 but is on an upward curve. That means D'arcy has a lot to offer. I still dont think his season was that bad, and I can see him playing a major role for Leinster and Ireland next season. If macfadden or fitz have better form, fine they should start ahead of D'arcy. I also think that Wallace stsrting this weekend is the best thing long term. Saying D'acry has been dropped on form I would not agree with, because wallace was always going to get 1 or 2 games on this trip. Playing the lighter wallace against OZ makes perfect sense , and if that was always going to be wallaces game then its logical that he have a run against the Maori.

I rate wallace, but he has been fecked around position wise in his province position wise.

[jezzer]

I don't understand how measured analysis of a player that doesn't show him in glowing terms is "unreasonable", "running him down" or "harsh". That's just homerism. If you're going to say x player from y team isn't great, you have to be able to say it for your own team's players. If you don't agree with me, fine. But D'Arcy is not above criticism, for Ireland or Leinster.

I agree. But throw away statements like D'acry does not deserve a place on Leinsters starting IX is daft. Thats my opinion. I also dont see how you could call it constructive.

I haven't made any throwaway statements. We scored a pathetic number of tries last season. I attribute some of the blame to the midfield and D'Arcy in particular. Call it daft if you want, but I don't think my eyes deceived me. Two of the best distributing 10s in the ML - Sexton and Berne - with plenty fo possession and quick ball from a good pack, delivered very meagre results out of the backs in general and midfield in particular. I think we would have won more games with Nacewa at 12 than at 11.

Look, I got pasted by the homers two years ago for suggesting Kearney has faults to his game, which - if he corrected would make him one of the world's best 15s. I think history over the last two years has shown me right: 1) He's not a wing 2) When he backs himself on the run he's effective, though he tends to make exaggerated changes in direction which wipe off his speed 3) his tackling technique is shocking and 4) he is prone to mental brainfarts.
Kearney is a very good player, though not as good as he or many others seem to think.

Am I right about D'Arcy? It's subjective, isn't it? But I'm not surprised that I'm getting called daft again - there are some on Leinsterfans who are too one-eyed to let people hold anything but positive opinions about players. We should be supportive of all Irish players - I'm just being more supportive of Paddy Wallace than D'Arcy at the moment.

[BlueBlue]

jezzer-I haven't made any throwaway statements. We scored a pathetic number of tries last season. I attribute some of the blame to the midfield and D'Arcy in particular. Call it daft if you want, but I don't think my eyes deceived me. Two of the best distributing 10s in the ML - Sexton and Berne - with plenty fo possession and quick ball from a good pack, delivered very meagre results out of the backs in general and midfield in particular. I think we would have won more games with Nacewa at 12 than at 11.

Look, I got pasted by the homers two years ago for suggesting Kearney has faults to his game, which - if he corrected would make him one of the world's best 15s. I think history over the last two years has shown me right: 1) He's not a wing 2) When he backs himself on the run he's effective, though he tends to make exaggerated changes in direction which wipe off his speed 3) his tackling technique is shocking and 4) he is prone to mental brainfarts.
Kearney is a very good player, though not as good as he or many others seem to think.

Am I right about D'Arcy? It's subjective, isn't it? But I'm not surprised that I'm getting called daft again - there are some on Leinsterfans who are too one-eyed to let people hold anything but positive opinions about players. We should be supportive of all Irish players - I'm just being more supportive of Paddy Wallace than D'Arcy at the moment.

Grand ! Its good to see wallace getting a go. He does deserve it and he is a creative talent. That kind of talent would be used to the best effect against OZ. The poor lad playing against NZ would be a car crash in my view however. The thing I hate about fans and message boards is how eager we all are to say player X is a spent force or sh!t. Again I see more of this than positive comments. And yes I was one of the people who said give Berne a chance, and I have been talking up Sexton for more than a few years now ! So us positive, glass is more than half full people are as likly to predict the future correctly as the negative predictions. And yes, I never rated eddie hekkenui ( not correct spelling) either , so I am capable of calling a dud when I see it.

[ronk]

To be blunt, Shaggy won't be in our first choice 15. There's a chance he won't be in the 22. Darce will be another year older and the competition will increase. After Shaggy, he's probably the next most vulnerable back in my opinion. With the likes of Conway coming in Schmidt might want to have a look at Iosa in a more central role given his previous knowledge of him at the Blues and give Conway a run on the wing. Fitz will be back also who has played 12 at HEC and international level.

I see Isa as more of a fullback next season. Kearney will be missing a huge amount and Conway will spend more time on the wing for the first while with Isa behind him.

Horgan's place in the team will depend on his form, and it's hard to make predictions based on the train wreck that is the end of this season. Strongest XV probably sees Fitzgerald and Isa on the wings with Berne on the bench (covering 12 also). So competition comes down to McFadden (weak on flexibility), Conway (assuming he kicks on) and Horgan (probably the best in terms of providing cover in all positions).

[Danthefan]

Have to say I don't rate Berne at all. He's not good enough for a top tier European side, in my opinion.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Have to say I don't rate Berne at all. He's not good enough for a top tier European side, in my opinion.

If he was the bench cover for 10/12 when Sexton was unavailable then I'd be delighted with him in the squad. As it is I think we could do a lot better than him as our back up outhalf and I'd like to see more of Isa at ten next year instead. As I've said many times before though, I don't think think he's a bad player, it's just that he's not a ten and I disagree with Jezzer about him being creative, imo he really struggles to get the backline moving from ten.

[mhow]

Interview with Gordon Darcy on irish rugby supporters club mentions having stayed on in Australia after squad returned to recover from operation, spoke of hip and groin injuries and says feels good now and is just back in training.

[Leinster Zulu]

Hopefully an Irish 12 will replace D'Arcy when he's not playing.

[CiaranIrl]

Hopefully an Irish 12 will replace D'Arcy when he's not playing.

Do you mean you don't want Beirne to start? I'd like to see more of Isa at 12 myself, which should be possible with Luke back.

[[Jackass]]

Re: D'Arcy's form, I think last season was one of his best ever seasons in the blue of Leinster, I thought he had an excellent season...some games that come to mind are London Irish away, Munster in RDS...he's an absolute quality player and massively underrated, despite his big reputation.

Re: Job interview, it would be bad to lose D'Arcy, but we've excellent young prospects in the centre such as McFadden (more than capable of being an international 12 imo), O'Malley & Macken, and it's only a matter of time before they get their breakthrough and establish themselves. The next two seasons will be massive seasons for Leinster youth imo. I reckon the following season the Leinster first 15 will be 90% academy players.

Re: Groin injury, nice to know that management are looking to the future...I think D'Arcy will stick around for a couple of seasons after the world cup, I don't think O'Driscoll will.

[Leinster Zulu]

Hopefully an Irish 12 will replace D'Arcy when he's not playing.

Do you mean you don't want Beirne to start? I'd like to see more of Isa at 12 myself, which should be possible with Luke back.

I don't want Berne or Nacewa at 12, no. We can't have the 12 position ending up like TH for Ireland.

[Cianostays]

Hopefully an Irish 12 will replace D'Arcy when he's not playing.

Do you mean you don't want Beirne to start? I'd like to see more of Isa at 12 myself, which should be possible with Luke back.

I don't want Berne or Nacewa at 12, no. We can't have the 12 position ending up like TH for Ireland.

It's not as dire as that yet. Paddy Wallace (a fine 12 imo) is getting regular starts for Ulster whereas, at the moment, we don't have a good irish TH getting regular game time.

[BlueBlue]

Gordon D'Arcy is hoping for an injury-free season after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage in his hip over the summer.




D'Arcy was a member of the Ireland squad for the summer Tour of Australia and New Zealand but he only played in the game against the All Blacks after suffering another groin injury.

The centre struggled with a number of injuries over the 2009-10 season and a visit to a specialist whilst in Australia resulted in the 30-year-old undergoing surgery.

"The specialist didn't agree my injuries were originating from where they were showing up, my groin, my pelvis or previously, my sore back," D'Arcy told the Irish Daily Star.

"He thought everything might be originating at my hip so I had an exploratory operation and it showed up to four cartilages were torn. So I had an operation to correct that and I've been flying since then, everything seemed to have cleared up.

"The knock-on benefits from the hip operation have been super. I have every confidence in my back now. In fact, my back - on which I have done so much work - is now one of the strongest parts of my body.

"Hopefully now that the hip has been sorted out, my groin and my pelvis won't flare up

"I know there is a long season coming up but it is one I'm really looking forward to."

The new season sees a number of changes at Leinster with Joe Schmidt taking over at the helm from Michael Cheika and D'Arcy is looking forward to training under the New Zealander.

"As always when a new coach comes there's a little shake-up. I think it puts everyone on their toes," he explained.

"I'm told by Isa Nacewa who worked with Joe back in New Zealand that he was one of the best coaches he had ever worked with."

[ronk]

Hopefully an Irish 12 will replace D'Arcy when he's not playing.

Do you mean you don't want Beirne to start? I'd like to see more of Isa at 12 myself, which should be possible with Luke back.

I don't want Berne or Nacewa at 12, no. We can't have the 12 position ending up like TH for Ireland.

Nacewa will be playing fullback a lot next year. If Berne is keeping someone on the bench who'd otherwise in contention for Ireland then we have big problems.

[Logorrhea]

Why do people keep suggesting that we put Nacewa in at 12? He has no real record of playing there before (I dont care what Wiki says, he didnt play there for the Blues and he hasnt played there for the last 2 years with us) hes one of the smallest players on the park, and he is probably one of the most effective back three players in the NH at the moment. Why move him.

[ronk]

Why do people keep suggesting that we put Nacewa in at 12? He has no real record of playing there before (I dont care what Wiki says, he didnt play there for the Blues and he hasnt played there for the last 2 years with us) hes one of the smallest players on the park, and he is probably one of the most effective back three players in the NH at the moment. Why move him.

He played one game last season at outhalf when he had to switch during the warmup. Clearly he'd be a good 12, he tackles everything that comes near him and puts in crunching hits. He can kick pass and run. He's good in traffic and in open spaces.

The goal of moving him would be for the overall benefit of the team. He could play there well, I don't expect him to be there often though.