IT WOULD HAVE been easy for Andy Farrell to name the experienced Conor Murray alongside Ross Byrne in Rome last Saturday, but the Ireland head coach instead opted to give Craig Casey his first Six Nations start.
Byrne achieved the same milestone, meaning Ireland’s halfback pairing had a fresh look to it.
In the end, Murray made an important impact off the Irish bench as he skillfully teed up Mack Hansen’s game-sealing try, but Farrell was pleased that 23-year-old Casey and 27-year-old Byrne had experienced a proper battle of a Six Nations game.
“How they ran the week was great and how they made other people feel that they were in charge and that they were always going to be in control,” said Farrell by way of assessing his halfbacks after Ireland’s 34-20 win.
“I thought that spilled over into how they controlled and managed the game and did really well.
“So it’s a good one for them to tick off, isn’t it, and know that how they prepare really matters to make sure they’re going to deliver as a halfback partnership. I think it was a priceless one.”
Casey and Byrne did well in a game that proved to be a lot tougher than some Irish supporters expected.
Speaking post-match, Casey revealed that he had nearly been ruled out due to a disk issue in his back flaring up. The Munster scrum-half credited Ireland physio Stephen Mutch for his work on the injury last week. It meant Casey was fit to team up with Byrne.
“I was only really starting to get to know Ross fully over the last few weeks, really,” said Casey. “He was in camp in November and was in a camp or two before that, but he’s an excellent player, so calm and in fairness very demanding.
“I knew his brother very well from the [Ireland] 20s and they’re not too dissimilar in how they carry themselves and the way they go about things, but I think we’ve bonded fairly well and we did very well against France off the bench the second week and it was very good to start with him. He was very commanding and I think he did well as well.”
Casey was “happy enough” with his own performance in front of around 15 family members who travelled to Rome for the game.
“I could have got on the end of a few tries, my support lines were a bit better so I was happy with that. I could have got one when Josh [van der Flier] passed it on the outside to Lowey [James Lowe]!” said Casey.
“In terms of attack, happy. I could have got a few more clean exits, the one I threw a bit low to Lowey [that he knocked on in Ireland's 22], that’s on me in fairness, that kind of builds pressure on us.”
Casey echoed his head coach’s view that this was a crucial experience for him and Byrne.
“To learn in a bear pit like this, the real pressure environment of Rome, to come out the other end after making things happen but also making mistakes and learning from it, yeah, it was good.”
Indeed, the pressure was real for Ireland. Had Italy centre Juan Ignacio Brex not miscued his 68th-minute kick pass towards Federico Ruzza, the hosts might have levelled the game at that late stage.
Ireland scored five excellent tries but there were plenty of issues in their performance. In Farrell’s view, that’s welcome. He believes his players will learn more from a game like Saturday’s than a stroll to their bonus-point win.
“Once the pressure comes on and there’s a bit of belief in the stadium from an Italian point of view then that’s the type of pressure that you want to see people under,” said Farrell.
“And understanding that it’s not all going to go your way and still trying to find a way and coming away with a 14-point victory is very pleasing.
“At the same time, they know it was a good win but they’re disappointed with certain aspects because they know they’re better than that as well.”
Along with the exposure for the likes of Casey, Byrne, and replacement tighthead Tom O’Toole, this game was also a great opportunity for James Ryan to keep improving his captaincy skills.
With Johnny Sexton absent, Ryan was named skipper and continued his own good form.
“I thought he played really well in the first half actually,” said Farrell. “He prides himself on his performance first. He was good during the week.
“He was calm enough and relaxed enough to understand what his job he is, and how he needed to make the group feel, but at the same time he was very comfortable in delegating and getting everyone around to buy in. Yeah, I thought he handled the week really well and it’s a great experience for him.”
Whatever about the chances less experienced players have had in the opening three rounds of this Six Nations, Farrell will be delighted to welcome some of his key men back from injury ahead of the round four clash with Scotland in two weekends’ time.
Gregor Townsend’s side showed some of their quality in defeat to France yesterday, recovering from a damaging start to push les Bleus in a game that featured two red cards.
Finn Russell is likely to be key for the Scots at Murrayfield against Ireland, but Farrell pointed out that it’s not just about the creative playmaker.
“It’s all about speed of ball, so we’ve got to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” said the Ireland boss.
“Any good player wants time and space, and he’s able to do what he wants from time to time because of the work that’s done on the inside for him. So it’s a team thing.”
Originally published at 07.00
