Dynamic duo answer the call

THERE’S a cameraman with UTV, a gregarious blonde-locked man called Albert Kirk, and before Saturday’s monumental match against England, he was doing a few tricks in the Croke Park press-room to relieve the tedium of the Scotland/Italy game on television.

It was professional standard stuff yet it wasn’t a patch on the magic that followed from an Irish backline that lived up to its world-class reputation, the sleight of hand that started with the unparalleled passing of Stringer and went through O’Gara, D’Arcy, O’Driscoll, to either Hickey or Horgan, to the supporting Dempsey.

Two, however, we must single out.

The centre partnership of Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll — Darce and Drico to give them their popular names — is spoken of by the experts as being the best in the world. Two weeks ago, in the historic first game of rugby in Croke Park, O’Driscoll was absent through injury and how he was missed.

Had he played, then without shadow of doubt, Ireland would today be in line for the Grand Slam.

On Saturday, he was back, tasting for himself what it was like to play in this unique atmosphere, savouring every moment of it.

“It was fairly phenomenal,” said the Irish captain of the atmosphere. “We always knew it was going to be heightened from the French game. Ireland/England games always tend to be massive games, but the Croke Park factor added to that. I felt it for Amhráin na bhFiann and I was belting it out.”

He wasn’t the only one feeling the emotion during the anthem – some of the Irish players were actually in tears.

Continued O’Driscoll: “It was one of those very special moments, one of so many on the day. I wasn’t looking down the line to see who was crying but I’m sure the video footage will show it and people will get their abuse during the week, including myself!

“It shows the passion you have in certain players, shows what it means to be out there. There’s no point in showing emotion in your face but not in your actions, that’s what people will be judged on. We felt we let ourselves down in not putting in an 80-minute performance against France, we felt we needed to repay the GAA for allowing us to play in this incredible stadium, with a great performance and a big victory. We didn’t do that in the French game, that left us with only one game — I certainly didn’t want to be part of a team that lost the first two games of the inaugural year of being allowed to play rugby in this great stadium.”

D’Arcy too felt the emotion during the anthem – not just the Irish anthem either. “For me, every time I line out for Ireland — no matter where it is — when you listen to your anthem, it’s a very special moment and you’re very lucky to get it. Very few people are privileged enough to actually be on the field listening to Amhráin na BhFiann and Saturday was absolutely fantastic. First there was the respect shown for God Save the Queen, then Amhráin na BhFiann was absolutely boomed out.

“I can’t imagine how the English must have felt, listening to that.”

It wasn’t just during the singing of the anthems either. This was a special day in Irish sport, a day when a nation moved on. Not for the first time, Croke Park had a central role in Irish history, and ironically, perhaps fittingly, the first Irish try on a day when all sorts of Ireland/England records were smashed was scored on almost the exact spot where Michael Hogan was shot, on that fateful day in 1920.

“It’s different to any stadium I’ve ever played in,” said D’Arcy, of Croke Park, “and I’ve been in some really big ones, some really daunting ones. When a guy five or six metres from you can’t hear you when you’re making a call, when President McAleese came out and the roar that went around – it sends tingles down your back, right down your legs. I knew something special was going to happen. We played very, very smart rugby, gave ourselves options to play up the middle, play wide, or kick the ball.

“We gave ourselves three options, where on other occasion we had only one or maybe two. People knew where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to do. We were in control of the game for about 70 minutes, apart from a brief period when they got their try. To come back from their score, keep them in their half pretty much for the rest of the game, was a great mental achievement for the team. I think we made a lot of people very happy and proud.”

Happier and prouder than they’ll ever know, but you know something? On a day when everything went right, those same people also did themselves proud.