IRELAND v FIJI:WHEN GORDON D'Arcy's name was omitted from the Irish team last week for Paddy Wallace, he decided to face it stoically. No rancour or umbrage, no histrionics or drama, no crushing panic or rush to the team psychologist's door.

D’Arcy, if he had learned anything from a distinguished career, knew he would get another chance, that he would be back. Why? Because it is always that way. Shane Horgan knows it too. Luke Fitzgerald will come to know it. Keith Earls is beginning to know it.

One week on and D’Arcy faces Fiji for the second time in his career. The last outing against the Islanders was in 2002 for his second cap when he came off the bench. The intervening seven years have taught him to step back and see the wood from the trees, to believe that the extravagant talent he possesses has not dimmed.

“That’s the great thing about sport. You never know when you’re going to be in or out, so make the most of every chance you get,” says the team sage in disarming mood. “You just can’t afford to have a bad game. I don’t need to go through Deccie’s (Kidney) speech again about building a squad of 30 but that’s what he’s been doing.

“Competition is a great thing to have in a squad. You look at all the teams that do well in the world. They have a load of players with 20-25 caps. They have experience. With competition, it basically means you can’t have a bad game.”

A chance to play these days in the Irish squad represents something more than it once did. With players vying for game time in every position, demonstrating the X-factor has become a one-off opportunity.

Former coach Eddie O’Sullivan’s instinct was to stick with a reliable coterie or players, whereas Kidney’s team is in transition. But the threat of the bench or worse hanging over every non-performing player is a forceful motivating factor.

“Yeah, completely, and it’s the same for everyone else in their position,” says D’Arcy. “A lot of guys are getting their chances this weekend and they basically have to grab it with both hands. That in itself puts pressure on the guy who played last week and then whoever gets picked against South Africa really has to perform. It can only be good for Ireland.”

Kidney’s world may be brave and new. The system he has in place, which is based on what makes the best team, will increase what business people call ‘competitive tension’. But it’s also more brutal. Dropping the venerable D’Arcy for the game with Australia was just that. Still the centre fully understands that a bit of brutality is good housekeeping, essential for keeping the team on edge.

Earls may see an opening with Fitzgerald’s injury. D’Arcy sees Fiji as an opportunity to consign Wallace back to the bench. Horgan has his heart set on the wing. It is all quite a series of little battles and the reality is fully understood by the players.

“This is probably the most competitive season, from Leinster right through to Ireland,” he says. “The so-called younger guys now have 15-20 caps, so they’re not exactly novices any more. They might only be 21, 22 or 23-years-old but they can’t be called inexperienced. They’ve all played. They’ve all won a Grand Slam. It’s just red-hot competition – which is the way the coaches want it, I suppose.

“This is it. Every team is going to have injuries. It’s horrible to see Lukie going down. It’s one of your mates – particularly when you can empathise with him. But knowing how he works, he’ll breeze through this. He’ll probably be back a month early. He looks at things in his own particular way. He’s alright. Obviously he understands the severity of the injury but he’s pretty good at looking at the silver lining as well.”

D’Arcy, more than most, has had to take comfort from small crumbs. His injuries have dwarfed those of most players and, despite his typically philosophical take, nothing less than a driving hunger could have taken him from his hospital bed with a shattered arm to the Irish shirt via a Grand Slam.

Each knock, each triumph contributes equally. Brian O’Driscoll spoke recently of his renewed hunger for the game. But D’Arcy claims no surging energy.

“No, I just enjoy playing rugby. I really do,” he says. “I have a really good job. I’m very lucky to do it. I can’t take it for granted. There are bad parts of every job but 95 per cent of my job is good.

“Obviously not getting selected is always a tough thing but I always find that spurs you on. I tend not to read too much into things. In my career, I’ve seen that three months can be a long time in rugby. Right the way through my career things have been turned on their head like a 2p piece, in the space of three months.”

Or on this occasion, the space of one week. Back in a familiar alignment with O’Driscoll and Horgan it’s another chance to be a permanent fixture in shifting sands.