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Friday, 19 March 2010

D'Arcy fit to face Scotland

Gordon D'Arcy retains his spot as inside centre

Gordon D'Arcy has been cleared to start Ireland's RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland at Croke Park on Saturday.

The Leinster centre sustained heavy bruising above his left knee in Saturday's 27-12 victory over Wales and was considered a doubt for the final assault on the Triple Crown.

But head coach Declan Kidney confirmed D'Arcy has been given the green light to face the Scots.

"Gordon is fit. He trained yesterday and again this morning so he's ready to play," Kidney said.

D'Arcy will line up alongside captain Brian O'Driscoll for the fifth and final time this championship in Ireland's last match at Croke Park.

The 30-year-old has re-established himself as first choice at inside centre following a year-long rivalry with Paddy Wallace, who was on standby to replace him on Satuday.

While he has scored just five tries in 47 Test appearances, D'Arcy remains a key member of Ireland's backline and his recovery is a significant boost to the team.

Teams for Ireland v Scotland, Croke Park, Saturday, 5pm.

Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster); J Sexton (Leinster); T O'Leary (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster).

Replacements: S Cronin (Connacht), T Buckley (Munster), L Cullen (Leinster), S Jennings (Leinster), E Reddan (Leinster), R O'Gara (Munster), R Kearney (Leinster).

Scotland: H Southwell (Stade Francais); S Lamont (Scarlets), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow), M Evans (Glasgow); D Parks (Glasgow), C Cusiter (Glasgow, capt); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton), J Hamilton (Edinburgh), A Kellock (Glasgow), K Brown (Glasgow), J Barclay (Glasgow), J Beattie (Glasgow).

Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), A Dickinson (Gloucester), R Gray (Glasgow), A MacDonald (Edinburgh), M Blair (Edinburgh), P Godman (Edinburgh), S Danielli (Ulster).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa) and Jerome Garces (France).