And the 28-year-old Ospreys prop has been dreaming of repeating that process when the World Cup holders return to the Welsh capital in November, although hoping for a better outcome thereafter.
With his then regional clubmate Adam Jones ruled out with injury Jarvis stepped up to win his first cap against Argentina in the opening game of the 2012 Autumn Series. The Pumas’ won that game and then Jarvis was in the side that lost to Samoa.
The game against the All Blacks was set to be the biggest of his career, but he lasted only one minute before he damaged his knee ligaments so badly he had to be carried off on a stretcher. It was the end of his game and the end of his season.
“One of my best rugby memories is facing the Haka – it was just unfortunate that the game after that only lasted 60 seconds for me. That day was a high and a low,” said Jarvis.
“As soon as the injury happened Richie McCaw said: ‘I’m sorry, mate, I heard it go’. It wasn’t his fault, it was just one of those things that happen. He was rucking and he landed awkwardly on my knee. That was that and I was out of the game for 10 months.
“Hopefully, if I can play well with the Ospreys and keep my form, I can get another chance to play for Wales. It was nice to get back into the squad for the summer tour to South Africa, but I know I’ve got to do my job here at the Ospreys first before thinking about an international return.”
Jarvis played for the final half-an-hour in the agonising 31-30 defeat against the Springboks in Nelspruit in June to leave him still searching for his first win in a Welsh shirt after four caps. With 12 Tests to come before the 2015 Rugby World Cup there should be plenty of opportunities to rectify that matter.
Scarlets’ tight head Samson Lee has overtaken team mate Rhodri Jones in the race to push Adam Jones out of Welsh front five, but the fit-again Jarvis is right back in the reckoning as the World Cup begins to loom large on the horizon.
“There is a lot of competition around for the Welsh squad, but there are also a lot of great young players coming through at the Ospreys who are certainly keeping me on my toes,” admitted Jarvis.
“It was great having Adam Jones here, and I learned so much from him because he is a world class prop. But you have to respect the decisions he has taken and the reasons behind them.
“I worked out I was the third or fourth oldest in the side when we played the Dragons and we are a young side that is learning all the time. We are learning from each other and there are some quality young players in this squad.
“Just in the front row we have Nicky Smith and Nicky Thomas, Dan Suter, Dimitri Arhip and Marc Thomas. The Ospreys is a good place to be right now.
“It’s not all doom and gloom at the set piece and we are definitely going in the right direction. I think we can get back to the stage where we have one of the most feared front fives in Europe.
“We have the personnel to do it and so it is just a case of getting it right in every game. We didn’t get everything right against the Dragons, whereas we did against a pretty good Treviso pack the week before. It is definitely there, it’s just getting the consistency into our game.”
| Watch Wales face the might of the Southern Hemisphere this autumn at the Millennium Stadium as the Dove Men Series returns. Tickets are available from www.wru.co.uk/tickets with concession tickets available for Australia, South Africa and Fiji. |
