When the posse of contenders to assume occupancy of the number 13 jersey was first listed, Darren Cave was relatively well down the betting.
Even Ulster were inclined to take a look at the favourite, Jared Payne, toward the end of the season, meaning Cave lost the 13 jersey with his province.
Yet with Payne not eligible until November and others falling by the wayside, Cave is granted first shot after Brian.
Cave wins his sixth cap a la the previous five, on a summer tour. There were starts against the USA and Canada in 2009 and last year, along with a seven-minute cameo in the last Test against New Zealand two summers ago.
“My form for Ulster has been pretty consistent, not always magnificent but very rarely poor.
Tussle for the 13 jersey
“Unfortunately when you are in a tussle for the 13 jersey off him (O’Driscoll), some rarely poor form isn’t good enough.”
“I suppose at the end of the day I just try not to replace him. It’s not about him for me. I’ll just try and play as well as I can and we’ll see what happens.”
Cave was not inclined to revisit his comments around the turn of the year that his face didn't fit, although Joe Schmidt appears to have become more of a fan over the months in agreeing with Les Kiss that Cave cannot try to be O'Driscoll re-incarnated.
“We’ve had long discussions about who and how and what they’re going to bring, and for me I suppose my expectations of Darren Cave is that he continues to be the really clever player that he is,” said Schmidt.
“His passing game has improved immeasurably. Watching him go from the middle of the field to the edge of the field with his left hand is I think a massive bonus for us,” said Schmidt, also pinpointing Cave’s intelligent running lines and creativity.
“He’s possibly not the same finisher as Brian was, but we’re not trying to replace someone who was a bit all-singing and all-dancing, hit the edge, do the offload and finish the try himself. But I think Darren has got enough change-up to get in those smart support lines that he will be a finisher for us.”
