CRAIG CASEY AND Nick Timoney have got what they have been hoping for more of in an Ireland jersey.
Frontline Test starts.
At the age of 31, openside flanker Timoney gets what is essentially just his second start in a frontline Test for Ireland against Argentina on Friday.
The Ulster man started against Wales during the Six Nations this year, but his other Ireland starts have come against the US, Fiji, Georgia and Japan. The main reason Timoney hasn’t had a better run of it is Josh van der Flier, whose consistency has been matched by durability.
Similarly, 27-year-old Munster scrum-half Casey has been stuck behind world-class operators in Conor Murray and then Jamison Gibson-Park, the latter of whom moves onto the bench with van der Flier for Friday night.
Casey got a start against South Africa in 2024, only to suffer a horrible head injury in the first half, but otherwise his starts have come against the lesser lights of international rugby in much-changed Irish teams.
So Friday’s Nations Championship clash with Los Pumas must be particularly exciting for Casey and Timoney, the two surprise selections in Andy Farrell’s starting XV.
“Craig deserves to play in a big game at the start of the season and have the responsibility to be in charge of the week and how we go about that and take responsibility for how we play on Friday,” said Farrell.
“We need him to have the opportunity to do that, and plus he’s been playing pretty well himself. He knows the competition’s there, but he’s got the shirt, so it’s up to him along with his team-mates to make a good first impression.”
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Timoney made great progress for Ireland last season, featuring strongly in the Six Nations, and Farrell believes there is more to come.
Ireland openside Nick Timoney. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“Certainly last year, I think he finally grabbed hold of the understanding of what he can bring and what international rugby is all about,” said Farrell.
“We saw a consistency within that. He brings a lot, not just to our game but in different positions as well. Look at our 23-man squad, and we’ve a decent bench as well, James Ryan coming on and Bundee Aki and all of that.
“So, Nick gets the chance to wear the jersey, and I’m sure that Josh will have something to do with that in the coming weeks as well.”
Farrell said it’s important that the gaps between regular Ireland starters like Gibson-Park and the next in line close up ahead of next year’s World Cup.
The Ireland head coach understands that someone like Gibson-Park could be cut down by injury at any stage, so he wants the likes of Casey to be ready. He also wants every one of his frontliners to feel selection heat.
“You have to keep them hungry as well,” said Farrell. “I mean, they will stay hungry no matter what because that’s the type of people that they are, but you’ve got to make sure that your squad is your strength, certainly with what’s coming up in the next 12 months, so it’s important that we keep feeding that.
“If ever a player feels comfortable, we’re failing the group. We’ve not got those players anyway.
“I don’t think people are comfortable just by their nature, but if you want the ambition to keep growing as a group, then you’ve got to keep the ambition within the individual.”
Casey and Timoney’s introductions to the side are among the seven personnel changes Farrell has made from the Nations Championship loss to New Zealand in Auckland.
Robbie Henshaw comes in at number 13 in place of the injured Garry Ringrose, Sean Jansen starts at number eight with Jack Conan and Caelan Doris missing, while loosehead prop Andrew Porter, blindside flanker Ryan Baird and left wing Mack Hansen return from year-long absences from the green jersey.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“When these guys come back into your group, you 100% understand why they’re so revered, as far as being top line players because of the standards that they hold themselves to and hold the rest of the team accountable to,” said Farrell.
Connacht’s 25-year-old tighthead prop Sam Illo gets the nod as bench cover for Tadhg Furlong, having edged Finlay Bealham out of the western province’s first-choice team and the wider Ireland squad.
Illo also nudges ahead of Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson to make this match day 23, having earned his Ireland debut off the bench against Japan in July.
“It was great to see how he works and what he’s all about, and you’re always hopeful that those types of experiences stand to them for, for what you see in the near future,” said Farrell of Illo.
“I thought we saw that in spades [for Connacht] against Saracens. I thought he came into his own there, not just in the tight, in the scrimmaging part, which he’s very good at, but also in the loose as well.
“Finlay drops out, but we know what Finlay can do, we know what he brings, we trust Finlay implicitly. But Sam needs the experience to be able to grow in this type of environment, in this type of pressure cooker that’s international rugby, and he gets his opportunities to do that.”
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'Craig deserves to play in a big game and take responsibility'
CRAIG CASEY AND Nick Timoney have got what they have been hoping for more of in an Ireland jersey.
Frontline Test starts.
At the age of 31, openside flanker Timoney gets what is essentially just his second start in a frontline Test for Ireland against Argentina on Friday.
The Ulster man started against Wales during the Six Nations this year, but his other Ireland starts have come against the US, Fiji, Georgia and Japan. The main reason Timoney hasn’t had a better run of it is Josh van der Flier, whose consistency has been matched by durability.
Similarly, 27-year-old Munster scrum-half Casey has been stuck behind world-class operators in Conor Murray and then Jamison Gibson-Park, the latter of whom moves onto the bench with van der Flier for Friday night.
Casey got a start against South Africa in 2024, only to suffer a horrible head injury in the first half, but otherwise his starts have come against the lesser lights of international rugby in much-changed Irish teams.
So Friday’s Nations Championship clash with Los Pumas must be particularly exciting for Casey and Timoney, the two surprise selections in Andy Farrell’s starting XV.
“Craig deserves to play in a big game at the start of the season and have the responsibility to be in charge of the week and how we go about that and take responsibility for how we play on Friday,” said Farrell.
“We need him to have the opportunity to do that, and plus he’s been playing pretty well himself. He knows the competition’s there, but he’s got the shirt, so it’s up to him along with his team-mates to make a good first impression.”
Timoney made great progress for Ireland last season, featuring strongly in the Six Nations, and Farrell believes there is more to come.
“Certainly last year, I think he finally grabbed hold of the understanding of what he can bring and what international rugby is all about,” said Farrell.
“We saw a consistency within that. He brings a lot, not just to our game but in different positions as well. Look at our 23-man squad, and we’ve a decent bench as well, James Ryan coming on and Bundee Aki and all of that.
“So, Nick gets the chance to wear the jersey, and I’m sure that Josh will have something to do with that in the coming weeks as well.”
Farrell said it’s important that the gaps between regular Ireland starters like Gibson-Park and the next in line close up ahead of next year’s World Cup.
The Ireland head coach understands that someone like Gibson-Park could be cut down by injury at any stage, so he wants the likes of Casey to be ready. He also wants every one of his frontliners to feel selection heat.
“You have to keep them hungry as well,” said Farrell. “I mean, they will stay hungry no matter what because that’s the type of people that they are, but you’ve got to make sure that your squad is your strength, certainly with what’s coming up in the next 12 months, so it’s important that we keep feeding that.
“If ever a player feels comfortable, we’re failing the group. We’ve not got those players anyway.
“I don’t think people are comfortable just by their nature, but if you want the ambition to keep growing as a group, then you’ve got to keep the ambition within the individual.”
Casey and Timoney’s introductions to the side are among the seven personnel changes Farrell has made from the Nations Championship loss to New Zealand in Auckland.
Robbie Henshaw comes in at number 13 in place of the injured Garry Ringrose, Sean Jansen starts at number eight with Jack Conan and Caelan Doris missing, while loosehead prop Andrew Porter, blindside flanker Ryan Baird and left wing Mack Hansen return from year-long absences from the green jersey.
“When these guys come back into your group, you 100% understand why they’re so revered, as far as being top line players because of the standards that they hold themselves to and hold the rest of the team accountable to,” said Farrell.
Connacht’s 25-year-old tighthead prop Sam Illo gets the nod as bench cover for Tadhg Furlong, having edged Finlay Bealham out of the western province’s first-choice team and the wider Ireland squad.
Illo also nudges ahead of Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson to make this match day 23, having earned his Ireland debut off the bench against Japan in July.
“It was great to see how he works and what he’s all about, and you’re always hopeful that those types of experiences stand to them for, for what you see in the near future,” said Farrell of Illo.
“I thought we saw that in spades [for Connacht] against Saracens. I thought he came into his own there, not just in the tight, in the scrimmaging part, which he’s very good at, but also in the loose as well.
“Finlay drops out, but we know what Finlay can do, we know what he brings, we trust Finlay implicitly. But Sam needs the experience to be able to grow in this type of environment, in this type of pressure cooker that’s international rugby, and he gets his opportunities to do that.”
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andy farrell Casey Ireland Selection Timoney