D’Arcy ruled out of Munster showdown

Leinster centre Gordon D’Arcy has been ruled out of Saturday’s Magners League final meeting with Munster at Thomond Park after failing to recover from an ankle injury which he picked up in last weekend’s Heineken Cup final victory against Northampton.

D’Arcy struggled with the injury for most of the second half against the English outfit and was replaced by young utility back Fergus McFadden in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Wexford native would have been expected to be named in the starting line-up for the crunch game with Tony McGahan’s side and looks set to be replaced by McFadden for Saturday’s clash although coach Joe Schmidt also has the option of pairing Brian O’Driscoll with Old Belvedere centre Eoin O’Malley.