DARREN CAVE WAS 22-years-old when he toured to North America with Ireland and made his international debut. On Saturday he starts at centre alongside Ulster teammate Stuart Olding [20], eager but far from established.

Despite holding down the 13 jersey for his province for the past four seasons, Cave has only added one cap – a substitute’s appearance on last summer’s tour to New Zealand – to the two he picked up in 2009. He excelled for the Ireland XV that thumped Fiji at Thomond Park, last November, yet returned to Ulster while younger teammates Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy and Paddy Jackson were elevated to the Six Nations squads.

Cave told TheScore.ie, “If you had said to me in 2009 that four years later I would have only added one more cap, I probably wouldn’t have been outrageously excited about that. So, while I got a couple of caps out there last time, I feel it was an opportunity missed and if I get a chance this summer I’ll make sure I take it.

Les Kiss is interim Ireland coach for the tour games against the USA and Canada but new head coach Joe Schmidt has already paid a visit to Houston to monitor proceedings. Cave is determined to return from this tour knowing he has given his all. He said:

I know, as well as most people, how hard it is to get one of those green jerseys… myself and some of the other players will be looking to win both games, contribute as much as possible and lay down a bit of a marker.”

Cave added, “Joe’s record at Leinster was absolutely incredible; six finals in the last three seasons. From a personal point of view, I wasn’t really playing before so it can’t get any worse. If Joe comes in and doesn’t pick me then things remain the same.”

Olding and Cave tackle Brian O’Driscoll in the Pro12 Final. (©INPHO/Dan Sheridan)

Schmidt’s Leinster bounced back from two league defeats to get the better of Ulster, and Cave, in the RaboDirect Pro12 Final last month. “The result was a lot harder to take than the Heineken Cup Final last year,” admitted the centre. “At that stage, we were beaten by a much better team. This year it was a lot close and we felt we were a better side.”

At the final whistle, and not for the first time despite his confirmation of a contract extension, the ‘one more year’ chants echoed around the RDS for Brian O’Driscoll.

“I can tell you,” Cave remarked, “I wasn’t one of those people in the RDS chanting for one more year. You can only control what you can control. There’s no point in me worrying about what’s Brian going to do. I have to focus on my own game so at least I give Joe a decision to make.”

Olding, who emerged as a genuine attacking talent for Ulster this season, is another player hoping to play his way into Schmidt’s thoughts for the November internationals. Cave said:

We seem to have a production line of young centres at the minute. I, of course, campaigned for them all to be 12s and not 13s. Paddy Wallace was playing great rugby not so long ago and he hurt the knee. Luke came in and took the Six Nations by storm, then Stuart’s Rabo run-in was phenomenal.

“We really relied on him and needed him towards the end. He got a couple of man-of-the-match awards. From my perspective, it’s a pleasure to play outside such young talent.”

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