Scotland co-captain Rory Darge backed his Glasgow team-mate Tom Jordan to continue his “whirlwind” journey by taking his first Six Nations start in his stride against Ireland on Sunday.
The 26-year-old back will wear the number 12 jersey usually reserved for injured centre and national team captain Sione Tuipulotu after a strong display as a second-half replacement for Stafford McDowall in last weekend’s 31-19 win over Italy.
New Zealand-born Jordan – who initially joined semi-pro side Ayrshire after moving to Scotland in 2019 and then signed for Glasgow in 2022 – won his first four caps for Gregor Townsend’s side in November after qualifying on residency grounds.
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Darge has watched Jordan’s rise to prominence at close quarters over the past few years and has been impressed at the way his versatile clubmate – who has played at inside centre, stand-off and full-back this season alone – has taken to life in the Test arena.
“It’s been pretty whirlwind, hasn’t it? He’s just gone from strength to strength,” said the back-rower.
“With Tom, he’s already shown that he can play at Test-match level. I think last week when he came on, he brought real energy. In his first cap, he was playing at full-back and he slotted in really well and did a job.
“He’ll be really excited to go out and play at 12, where he’s probably played most of his rugby. But then at Glasgow, he’s played a lot at 10, which just shows the sort of quality player he is, that he can cover and play to a really high standard in all those positions.”
Much has been made of the impact Tuipulotu’s absence could have on Scotland’s championship prospects, but Darge has no doubt Jordan is equipped to handle the pressure of deputising for the influential skipper.
“Of course he is, yes,” he said. “Sione being out of the squad is something that (means) almost everyone has to maybe bring a little bit more of their sort of leadership, because he’s a massively important player to us in terms of leadership in his performances. But I’m really excited to see Tom go tomorrow.”
Scotland are aiming to end a 10-game losing streak against Ireland and Darge, who has played in three of those matches, respects their durability.
“Ireland are obviously world-class, and I think that’s the danger when you play them, is they don’t necessarily go away,” he said. “They stay at it, and there are so many words you can use to describe their qualities. They’re clinical. If you give them those opportunities, they usually take them.
“Their breakdown work’s world-class. We know that it’s going to be some challenge to get a result tomorrow, but rather than focus on that too much, we just have to really bring our focus and attention to what we can do well.”
Darge, who will line up alongside his Glasgow colleagues Jack Dempsey and Matt Fagerson in the back-row, is braced for a formidable test from Ireland’s trio of Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris.
“The whole back row, you look at Pete, you look at Caelan as well, they’re going to bring a massive amount of quality around the breakdown, and try and slow us down and speed their ball up,” said Darge. “As a back row and as a team, we’ve got a massive challenge on our hands to get parity there and try and give ourselves the best chance.”
