HAVING WON WHAT felt like his first two international caps proper in June, Darren Cave admits to some concern over whether his performances were strong enough to keep him in the mix with Joe Schmidt’s Ireland.
After two starts against the US, two against Canada, and eight minutes off the bench against New Zealand in 2012, Cave’s appearances in the starting XV against Argentina had the feel of a true international beginning.
“A lot of my caps have come in, sort of, semi-depleted Irish teams, almost glorified Irish Wolfhound or ‘A’ teams. So it was nice to play alongside your Paul O’Connells, Jonny Sextons and that.
“I thought in the first Test I played pretty well, I was very happy with how it went. In the second Test, I didn’t think I played badly, I just felt afterwards that it would have been nice to have given a wee bit more, to make people say, ‘he should be involved in November.’”
Cave started the first Test in the 13 shirt, producing a number of eye-catching moments in Ireland’s 29-17 victory, before shifting inside to the 12 jersey for a quieter performance in the second game in Tucumán.
While the positions may appear quite similar, the Ulsterman points out that there is an adaptation involved, one which he didn’t handle as comfortably as he would have liked.
I didn’t think that I adapted on tour as well as I wanted to,” says the 27-year-old. “I thought it was an exciting opportunity for me to be playing 12 in the second Test and I didn’t think I played badly, but I don’t think I grabbed the shirt and had people saying ‘he has to play,’ which is obviously what I wanted to do.”
With Jared Payne soon to be qualified for Ireland, Robbie Henshaw returning from injury, and various other options for Schmidt to select from in midfield, it is a worry for Cave not to have put a stranglehold on an international place.
Not that he will be spending the upcoming season over-thinking things: ”In the past, I think I’ve played my worst rugby for Ulster when I’ve got too bogged down in worrying about international coaches.”
With the new season in mind, Cave had surgery on his shoulder six weeks ago, remedying a problem that stems all the way back to the Heineken Cup semi-final against Edinburgh in 2012.
“I took a big bang on my shoulder, subluxed it a wee bit. I’ve been able to manage it through the last couple of seasons, but I had to take the option to get it done this summer because next year there’s the World Cup.
To get it done next summer would rule me out of any chance I did have of going there and I didn’t think it would last another two years.”
A new element that may work in Cave’s favour with regard to Ireland prospects is the arrival of Les Kiss as Ulster’s interim Director of Rugby after the departures of David Humphreys and Mark Anscombe.
Cave welcomes the appointment of the Australian technician, a coach who shares traits with Schmidt.
“I think Les has this streak of obsessive attention to detail that Joe’s become so well known for. Absolutely everything is being videoed and he’s watching stuff like a hawk. One of the things I’ve always liked about Les is that he looks like he’s about to get into the drill at times because he’s so into it.”
