GORDON D’ARCY WILL play out the final months of his career with Leinster after failing to make Joe Schmidt’s 31-man World Cup squad, but his former provincial and international teammate Shane Horgan says it won’t tarnish his legacy.
D’Arcy is due to retire in October after a career that included 82 Irish caps, two Six Nations titles, three Heineken Cups, an Amlin Challenge Cup and four Pro12/Celtic League titles.
Despite losing his place for the 2015 Six Nations triumph and missing out on a fourth World Cup, his former teammate for both province and country, Shane Horgan, says he has nothing left to prove in Irish rugby.
“He’s had a remarkable career. This isn’t even going to be a footnote on a remarkable career.
“He’s the longest serving Irish rugby player. He overtook Mike Gibson which is really remarkable and shows where you put him in the pantheon of Irish rugby greats and I think that’s what he is,” he says.
“He’s always suffered a little from being next to the greatest of all time, but I think if you’ve played with him it’s very obvious how important he was to a side.
“His tackling was incredible, for not a huge man. He also had terrific footwork,” he adds
Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
Horgan says that the Wexford centre’s career renaissance in 2004 is a testament to his professionalism.
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D’Arcy had been fast-tracked into the Irish side as a 19-year-old, appearing against Romania in the 1999 World Cup, but would go on to win just four more caps over the next three-and-a-half years.
However, it was an injury to Brian O’Driscoll that ultimately made way for his return to the side, before he went on to win the Player of the Tournament at the 2004 Six Nations, with he and O’Driscoll forming an almost unbreakable partnership over the next 10 years.
“It really is one of the all-time careers, and he’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats.”