Gordon D’Arcy says Ireland must be ‘perfect’ to finally lift All Black cloud

To twist a phrase, Gordon D’Arcy wears his scars on his sleeve when speaking about Ireland’s so-near-and-yet-so-far losses to New Zealand.

And the former Leinster centre admits that Joe Schmidt’s side will have to deliver a “perfect” performance to defeat the All Blacks this weekend.

Intriguingly, D’Arcy does not necessarily go along with the widely held view that Saturday’s Stateside clash is more of a warm-up for Ireland ahead of the sides’ clash in the return match at Aviva Stadium on November 19.