Ireland legend Gordon D'Arcy admits he may struggle to make Joe Schmidt’s 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup but insists it will not blight his illustrious career if he is overlooked.
The inside centre, 35, is Ireland’s longest-serving player but has lost the No. 12 jersey to Robbie Henshaw, and Schmidt may prefer to include a younger, more versatile player in his final panel.
Although he admits he hasn’t given up hope on a fourth World Cup appearance for his country, D’Arcy suggests he is preparing for bad news when Schmidt announces his squad at the end of the month.
"No one can say I'm on a par with Robbie, he was borderline player of the tournament [at the Six Nations], he was the Ireland player of the Six Nations and he's the first-choice number 12 going over," he told the Irish Independent.
"There are no guarantees and that's the hardest part. On September 1, I could either be heading over to England or I could be heading home. This doesn't make or break my career.
"It was always going to be a tough task for me to get into that squad and that's the reality. Joe wanted me to come in and compete for a place, but with everyone being fit it is going to be hard.”
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