Darcy Graham is now injury-free and ready to re-insert himself into the Scottish Rugby landscape, eying up his eighth professional season with Edinburgh and returning to international duty with Scotland.
Speaking to Darcy at the Vodafone launch at Murrayfield Stadium last week, the speedy winger was full of excitable bottled-up energy, ready to be released onto the field in just a few weeks’ time.
Following an enjoyably lighthearted discussion about whether he should dye his entire mullet blonde, we got down to the real subject on hand – his return to play.
Scottish Rugby had just announced a multi-year deal with Vodafone to become the Principal Partner and back-of-shirt sponsor, a deal that showed real commitment and faith in the nation. So what pressure does this backing have on the men’s and women’s sides, and what are Darcy and his teammates looking to achieve?
“The squad we’ve got now is unbelievable, so the pressure is on us to step up and kick on and actually go and win something. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to aim high, the boys want to win the Six Nations.
“When you look at Glasgow and the success they found last season, it shows that it can be done. I’m excited about getting back into the Scotland squad to learn from those Glasgow boys, how for a whole season they came together and won the URC because that’s massive for Scottish rugby.”
Rarely are you met with such enthusiasm and passion for one’s job, even when it comes to being a professional sportsperson. But for Darcy, it appears to be more than a job, it felt like a way of life – his passion.
Clearly desperate to get his boots back on, we reminisced about his last experience in a Scotland shirt – the World Cup in France.
“Looking back at the World Cup, it was an unbelievable experience and it doesn’t get any bigger than that, I want more of that, my hunger is through the roof right now.
“It’s been almost a year since I’ve played in a Scotland jersey, so to get back on the pitch and pull on that Thistle again is such a special feeling. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it.”
So why hasn’t Darcy been wearing the blue of Scotland in 2024? Well, after having seemingly recovered from a quadricep injury in time for Scotland’s Six Nations clash with England earlier in the year, Darcy almost instantly picked up a groin problem. After receiving specialist advice from a surgeon, he was then booked in for an operation which left him out of contention for the remainder of the season.
When asked about his recovery, the 27-year-old said: “Pretty much fully recovered now, into week four of pre-season so it’s been pretty fun, tasty. Games are just around the corner, I got a really good off-season which I’ve not had in forever.”
After joking about how quickly the off-season goes by, our attention turned to his relationship with the mesmerising Duhan van der Merwe. Having taken the Scottish try-scoring record from Stuart Hogg whilst Darcy was out injured, it had to be asked just how far the two of them could take the try-scoring charts.
“Duhey’s such a boy, he’s such a character to have around the squad and everybody loves him, he’s just a top, top boy.
“I was chuffed to bits when he took the try-scoring record. I messaged him shortly after as we’ve had a competition going for a wee while. It was always going to happen, now it’s just about how far we can both take it. He’s going to take it into the 30s, so I’m just going to have to get back and keep on his tail.”
Vodafone is a new Principal Partner and back-of-shirt sponsor of Scottish Rugby’s Men’s and Women’s teams.
The partnership – which includes both senior teams as well as the pathways system – sees Scottish Rugby join Vodafone’s established portfolio of rugby partners, alongside the Welsh Rugby Union and Irish Rugby Football Union.
As part of the deal, Vodafone will also become a Principal Partner of Scottish Rugby’s Women’s Pathway. Scotland Women and the women’s pathway teams will gain full access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect, the landmark mobile-first platform that helps female athletes to understand the impact their menstrual cycle has on performance, wellbeing and recovery.
The Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform is already used by Vodafone’s partners including Wales Women, the Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Team, Celtic Challenge teams Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning and the women’s rugby teams at Edinburgh, Cardiff and Durham universities.
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