LEINSTER MIGHT HAVE earned overall bragging rights with their win over Munster on Saturday, but Craig Casey still managed to find a way to have a playful cut at Joe McCarthy over the last couple of days.

Now reunited as team-mates in Ireland camp after doing battle at the Aviva Stadium over the weekend, Casey reminded McCarthy that the bigger man doesn’t always win every contest.

“I tried to run into Craig Casey, and he chopped me at the weekend,” said McCarthy with a smile today at the IRFU’s high performance centre in Dublin.

“He was like a speed bump and he got me down, so he slagged me about it. Thankfully we won.”

To be fair to McCarthy, he has won many more battles than he has lost in recent weeks. The 25-year-old has picked up where he left off last season, when his form in the second row for Leinster and Ireland was consistently strong.

McCarthy has enjoyed three starts for Leinster leading into this Nations Championship campaign with Ireland and feels ready to make a dent in green.

“I feel great,” said McCarthy. “They pushed us really hard this pre-season. Everyone kind of says that, but it definitely was one of the toughest pre-seasons I’ve had, especially when we were in South Africa [on Leinster's URC tour]. We had a bit of altitude training and stuff.

“And it’s always good to finish with an inter-pro. They’re usually good, spicy games to get you up to speed. I’m happy where I am. I feel like I built in the three games. I feel like I’m in good shape to take on these three games.”

McCarthy and Sam Illo at Ireland training today. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

McCarthy said he particularly enjoyed being part of Leinster’s “real dominance” in the set-piece against Cardiff, Clermont and Munster. He and his team-mates know there are much tougher tests ahead at scrum, lineout and maul over the next month.

The set-piece is a big focus for Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and forwards coach Paul O’Connell ahead of their Tests against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa.

That’s just one of the areas in which Ireland want to improve after losing to New Zealand in their last game in July.

“A lot of it, I know for the forwards, is speed of thought and speed of movement. That’s a big thing against New Zealand and getting punished,” said McCarthy.

“Not seeing pictures quick enough; the foot speed not being quick enough. They can score quick tries off the back of it. 

“We talked about evolving our attack a bit. We’re working on bits of that to try and show a different picture, to make it more unpredictable.

“Obviously, as a forward pack, we’re trying to really nail down that set-piece dominance, and Fogs and Paulie are all over that.”

The clash with South Africa in the third week of the campaign already looms large, and McCarthy agreed that it’s particularly exciting to get a chance to go up against a team who will be “the benchmark” of where Ireland are.

“I love that challenge,” said McCarthy. “You need to play against the best if you want to be the best. I can’t wait.

McCarthy in action for Leinster against Munster. Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s going to be awesome. Scrums and mauls with the new laws, an even bigger challenge. We need to build well and then rip into that. It will be a class match.”

Not that Ireland are thinking too far ahead.

They face Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina in their opening game of the window in just 10 days.

“One of Jonny Sexton’s challenges is can we be ready to play a match on Friday?” said McCarthy.

“Before the end of this week, we’ve got to be ready for a match against Argentina. That’s the way he would like to approach it when he was a player.

“So basically, make sure we’ve got all the details down, and we’re ready to play a Test match on Friday.

“Then next week, we can spend it getting our mindset right, enjoying the time together, and making sure you play on a bit of your instincts. So it’s sort of do your homework now, and have fun next week.”