DESPITE BEING PUT into a dangerous position by Stade Français lock Baptiste Pesenti at Thomond Park last weekend, Munster scrum-half Craig Casey could see the funny side.
Given the WWE-style nature of Pesenti’s red-card tackle, it was a remarkable coincidence that Casey had a mock WWE belt lying around. After the game, he posted a photo with the belt on social media and is happy to recount why he had it to hand.
Basically, Casey wrestled Finlay Bealham for it in Ireland camp. Their bout was part of the fun and games organised by Ireland’s social committee.
“I was a mixture of Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio and he was Kane,” explains Casey.
“He has this alter ego that he’s actually Kane.
“We did proper WWE moves, it was rehearsed and stuff. It was very good.”
The tackle by Pesenti last weekend certainly wasn’t part of Casey’s plan for his return to the Munster jersey after an impressive autumn with Ireland.
He doesn’t hold any grudge against the Frenchman but admits it was a strange, scary moment being turned upside down.
“I was trying to get my hand to the ground but I couldn’t reach, so that’s how tall your man was,” says Casey.
“I was still about two feet off. I was like, ‘What the f**k! How tall is he?’ And thankfully I got to the side. It was grand, it was grand.
“That’s part of it, like, part of being the smallest player on the pitch. I’m used to it now.”
Casey has been in the wars a fair bit, although his head injury against South Africa last summer was no laughing matter.
He was knocked unconscious in a tackle by former Munster team-mate RG Snyman, who was offside, forcing Casey off after an impressive performance. He missed the second Test victory over the Springboks as a result.
Casey says there’s no bad blood between him and Snyman, who he got on well with in Munster.
“It’s part and parcel of rugby, there were no grudges held, to be honest.
“It’s way worse that he’s gone up to Leinster!”
Snyman came into Ireland’s changing room after the game to speak to Casey, but the scum-half remembers none of it. He has a total blank up until around an hour and a half after the game.
Casey accepts that concussion is just “part and parcel of rugby” and says he was once knocked out in a Schools Senior Cup game for Ardscoil Rís.
But he knows it was much tougher for his loved ones on account of his grandfather, Pat Lawler, having passed away due to a rugby injury.
“For my family, I think it’s very difficult because my grandfather actually died on the rugby field. He was playing a charity game when he was 40, [he died] with a head knock.
“It’s very tough for my grandmother and my mother to watch on and see that, especially when you see how far away from home we were in South Africa.
“When your mother is watching that from halfway across the globe and you’re on oxygen and stuff like that after what has happened in her family, I’d say that’s fairly harrowing. But I was grand.”
Casey was obviously disappointed to miss the second Test in South Africa but has picked up where he left off this season, delivering fine form for province and country.
He was happy to be at the heart of a good Munster performance against the indisciplined Stade side, a bonus-point win in Limerick teeing up the southern province for a crack at Castres in Stade Pierre Fabre tonight [KO 8pm Irish time, Premier Sports].
Casey carried strong form back to Munster, having shone for Ireland in a start against Fiji and a replacement appearance versus Australia last month.
There was disappointment in not being involved in the opening Test against New Zealand and then just seven minutes off the bench against Argentina, but Casey was one of the big winners of the window by the end.
“I definitely feel like I’ve come on leaps and bounds and I’m probably showing that on the biggest stages consistently rather than in fits and bursts,” says Casey.
“It’s probably better as well when you’re starting games, you get to show your hand a bit more and I think from the start of the season I’ve been playing well with Munster and it’s led onto the international.
“I was disappointed to miss out on that All Blacks game because when you come home from South Africa and have a few weeks off, you’re thinking about where you can get better and where you can earmark yourself in for this season. That was definitely a game I had put down that I wanted to play in and make a real impact in, especially after not playing the World Cup quarter-final, it was somewhere I definitely targeted.
“I was gutted to miss out on that but I had a good chat with Faz [Andy Farrell] and I felt I came on leaps and bounds in training, and showed my hand in training.
“I got my chance in the Fiji game and that went well, then myself and the bench came on against Australia and it went well.”
Jamison Gibson-Park is still Ireland’s first-choice at scrum-half and Casey continues to learn from the Leinster man, but the Munster halfback’s mindset has changed in recent times.
He no longer has any sense of being the apprentice. He wants to step up and start more games for Ireland.
“Going down to South Africa without him [Gibson-Park was injured] probably helped me take the mantle and stuff like that,” says Casey.
“It’s the position I need to get to now, that I just take my game forward and stop concentrating on others.
“There was probably that flip of the switch, it’s now my time to kick on and there’s only so much learning you can do, you actually need to do it.”
Casey does still study other scrum-halves like Antoine Dupont, although he points out that it’s difficult to mimic some of the Frenchman’s game “when he’s such a freak. He just does things that are abnormal.”
The Munster man is happy with where his game is going, though, particularly how he is picking out space.
“I feel like I have made lots of strides in areas I probably needed to.
“My scanning is probably the piece where I have seen the most growth – seeing shortsides, seeing the backfield, and I’ve been backing myself to take them.
Casey looks more confident in his decision-making than ever, giving off a calm air, but he has always felt that way despite the speed he likes to play the game at.
“I would say I have always felt calm in the stuff I was doing. I’d say it looked a bit more frantic to everyone else, but I will say that I always felt in control in my decision-making.
“But it has come on, the game-management piece and seeing the kick space earlier has helped me make decisions where you don’t even need to slow the game down to kick it, and then when you do need to slow down, you’re able to.”
Casey senses that Munster have been gathering momentum since playing the All Blacks XV in November, with victories against the Lions and Stade Français following ahead of tonight’s clash in Castres.
He praises the work that went on in Munster while he and others were away in Ireland camp, the province reacting well to the departure of Graham Rowntree.
Casey has been part of Munster’s leadership group for nearly five years now, having been added to it by Johann van Graan when he was still only 20, so he plays a key role in assessing and driving the mood of the squad.
Munster were frustrated with their final 20 minutes against 13-man Stade when they fell into the trap of forcing things and trying to score before it was really on.
They have also made some tweaks to their attack in the ‘score zone’ five metres out from the tryline, so that’s one to watch out for tonight.
Casey is excited to keep his vein of form going. He’ll ask himself a simple question before kick-off in Castres.
What would 10-year-old Craig Casey want to do?
“He’d want to play his own game and rip in.”
- This article was updated at 9.55am to correct an error stating that Munster had beaten the All Blacks XV.
Deegan is probably closest like for like replacement for P O’Mahoney in the skill set he brings. Obviously has a lot more to prove to be considered in the same league as POM but if he can tie down 6 slot with Leinster , he could come into the reckoning for IRL. Early in his career, he showed he could perform at that level. Good player
@Michael Corkery: they are very, very different players when you take away the lineout skills
@Michael Corkery: a very competitive area, in both Leinster and Ireland, but then the irish lineout is a bit uncompetitive at the moment?
@adizlack93: I wouldn’t say so. Neither are very destructive ball carries like a Conan, Doris or Coombes or potentially Izuchukwu, fast over the ground and good at the breakdown/defence. And ability in lineout is a huge part of modern 6 game.
@Michael Corkery: it’s almost a pity JVDF is so good, then you could consider playing him at 7? I think POM’s best position at test level was openside, early doors anyway.
@Michael Corkery: Deegan is a very skilful and athletic ball carrier where POM is hard as nails and a and master of breakdown but not an athlete compared to other 6s
@adizlack93: POM would have been very athletic for most of his career but he didn’t have the density of a pure ball carrier like S O’Brien, D Wallace, Leamy etc. I’d say same now about Deegan v Conan, Doris etc. If we look at no 6’s , you have the hybrid lock types: Beirne, Baird, Izuchukwu,, Ahern, c. Prendergast. Deegan is much more a POM type BR forward than those lads. Sure they’re not identical but they’re definitely the closest in style of the current crop.
@Michael Corkery: an athletic 6 is Jerome Kaino, PSDT, Victor Vito, Stephen Ferris, Rocky Elsom. Not POM
@adizlack93: I think you’re mixing up athleticism and power. Or at least your definition of athletic is my definition of power. POM was very athletic, indeed that’s why he’s so good in the line-out. And Deegan is much more like POM than the guys you’ve mentioned.
@Michael Corkery: athletic ‘physically strong, fit and active’ Pom was and athletic openside, but not an athletic blindside?
@Michael Corkery: Deegan is a no 8 remember. He’s shifted to 6 because we have Doris and Conan. He is a ball carrier first and foremost and is adapting to blindside for his careers sake
@brian o’leary: I think argument about best position is another one. I was comparing our current options at n6 and saying Deegan was potentially the most like for like replacement for POM in that 6 role. But of course, IRL might decide they need a different profile in that role. A more powerful player like Baird or Izuchukwu .
@adizlack93: yes deegan can carry the ball and make meters
@adizlack93: true but I think he realized that he didn’t have the power of the likes of Conan and Doris but his relative lightness and dexterity could be a big advantage in the lineout. I think there’s also a misperception that PO’M wasn’t a good ball carrier. He was often used to carry out wide as he was better carrying in open spaces where his relative speed and handling could be used. Similar to Deegan now. PO’M has been used at 8 as well in Munster but definitely we get more out of him at 6 and I think Leinster will have similar thoughts about Deegan.
@Michael Corkery: would have Conan at 6 for Ireland on current form. His defence has really come on in recent years and ire have missed him. Also scope for Baird, Izzy Prendergast and Ahern
@adizlack93: I agree on form, he deserves to be in Irish XV. But with our lineout troubles at the moment, they might be tempted to go with a hybrid type 6 à la Baird, Beirne
Clearly a very different team selection policy at Leinster this year which appears to be helping.
Seems like the coaches have taken some feedback on board.
Interesting to see if it can be sustained for the whole season.
Deegan is an all round player, can play across the back line. Maybe this is his breakout season.
On a site note. Did anyone notice that one of the official sponsors, « Jaecoo » (whom I never heard of before yesterday) supplies cars to the Russian market! That’s from Wikipedia. Am I mistaken that there is an embargo against doing business with Russia and these guys are an official sponsor of the EPCR? Even if it wasn’t illegal should any company on a pure ethical basis be doing business with Russia? Should EPCR choose its partners better?
@Con Cussed: side note
@Con Cussed: absolutely not. Yes, EPCR should be more selective in their sponsorship but my guess they are desperate after allowing the French/English diminish the prestige of the competition into something of an afterthought for most teams
@Con Cussed: Embargo my a$$. Money talks and dirty money talks loudest of all. There are no such thing as morals when there’s a few bob to be made.
@Con Cussed: the company is Chinese, the EU or US can’t dictate who it does business with. As for ethics, Ireland did plenty of business with US companies when it was invading countries.
@John Buckley: Agreed, it wasn’t right then and it’s not right now. The fact that this is a Chinese company only makes it worse as they are supplying technology to the Russian’s.
@John Buckley: I think the point was about EPCR (a European entity) having a sponsor supporting a direct enemy of Europe. Nothing to do with what China does.
@Michael Corkery: The EU still gets gas from Russia. Should EPCR leave the EU because of this?
@John Buckley: much less gas than b4. And you can’t compare something like primary energy (which is a necessity) and sponsorship of a sporting event.
@Michael Corkery: Why does that matter, they still take gas. Employment is a necessity if you live in China, and it is being provided by this Chinese car manufacturer selling on the Russian market. Like others, you have no right to hold the moral high ground
@John Buckley: I think you intentionally or otherwise twisting my argument. I agree that China has no obligation vis a vis the west but honestly having one of your sponsors as a direct supporter of a declared enemy of the states in which you operate reeks of desperation or least a feckless disregard for where the money is coming from.
@Michael Corkery: Totally agree. Not sure where John is coming from, sounds like he doesn’t have any concern about human life. Another Ray unfortunately.
@Con Cussed: I think probably the real story is about the loss of visibility and status of the old H-Cup. Probably EPCR would have been fighting off wannabe sponsors. I guess now, they’ll probably feel they have to take the cash that’s offered and turn a blind eye.
@Con Cussed: No, I am just not joining your virtue signalling. The EU only put an embargo on what suits themselves, they still give loads of money to Russia. None of its citizens can lecture others.
Fully agree! All the vacuous, empty “values speak” and virtue signalling go out the window when money enters the room! Sickening!
@Eugene O’Curry: It brings the good name of rugby into disrepute. If we don’t have our morals, we have nothing!
I think Deegan has had to evolve his game into a more hybrid 6 as he doesn’t have the explosive power of Doris or Conan to play 8. He’s clearly focused on his lineout work, which could help propel him towards Irish reckoning. Although there is plenty of depth at blindside.
Definitely reckon there’s some clause about Snyman not starting in big European games ahead of Ryan or Mccarthy. For me, it’d be Ryan and Snyman with Mccarthy on bench, with Alan Spicer soon to arrive in the 23