6 Nations
‘Captaincy A Nice Step In Craig’s Journey’ – Farrell
Casey is one of twelve players involved who lined out against the Māori All Blacks in the summer, while fit-again Ulster winger Jacob Stockdale is back in green for the first time since the 2021 Vodafone Summer Series.
The inaugural All Blacks XV, selected by head coach Leon MacDonald, includes eight capped players with Damian McKenzie partnering vice-captain TJ Perenara at half-back, and Blues lock Patrick Tuipulotu skippering the side.
Casey first trained with the Ireland squad two years, making his debut against Italy at the start of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations. Head coach Andy Farrell felt the 23-year-old was the perfect fit for the captain’s role.
“He was an obvious choice for us. We approached the subject straight away and it was unanimous that it was going to be Craig. Why? Because it’s him just being himself. He’s a natural leader,” said Farrell.
“Just the way that he handles himself on a daily basis in and around everyone. He’s the ultimate professional, he prepares really well.
“He’s been in and around this (Ireland) environment for some time now so the responsibility is a nice step in his journey as well.”
The Limerick youngster is no stranger to captaining teams, having done so during his school days at Ardscoil Rís and also been captain of the Ireland Under-18 Schools team.
He enhanced his leadership skills as vice-captain of the Ireland Under-20s for their U-20 Six Nations Grand Slam-winning campaign in 2019, as well as that summer’s World Rugby U-20 Championship.
Revealing how he found out about his captaincy of Ireland ‘A’, he said: “It happened on Monday morning just before the team was named. Andy just pulled me aside for a normal chat that we would have and he just asked me then.
I was absolutely delighted. Massive honour for me, for my family, for everyone that’s helped me to this point. It’s a huge honour for them as well.
“I was delighted. It’s such a great team to be a part of and to be asked to lead it is a great honour.”
Casey has become an important figure in the Munster squad, recently making his 50th appearance for the province on the back of signing a three-year contract extension.
The Ireland ‘A’ panel has quickly come together as a galvanised unit this week, clearly relishing this opportunity to take on a talented New Zealand outfit on home soil and put their hands up for involvement in next week’s Fiji Test.
Ireland ‘A’ last played as the Ireland Wolfhounds against England Saxons in January 2015 when Felix Jones was skipper and Casey’s current Munster team-mate, Keith Earls, lined out at outside centre.
“All my teams growing up in Ardscoil I was the captain of, and then with the Irish 18s I had a bit of captaincy. So I’m well used to captaining teams, but this is obviously to the next level.
“Kind of controlling the week with lads that are part of the leadership group as well has been enjoyable,” said the Shannon clubman, who has made three starts for Munster so far this season.
The ‘A’ matchday squad contains seven players who were part of the successful Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa. Amongst them are Casey’s provincial colleagues, Diarmuid Barron, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash.
Ireland head coach Farrell is pleased to see the return of Ireland ‘A’ fixtures which, along with the Emerging Ireland tour, give players exposure to the international environment and a chance to press for a senior call-up.
“I think the more opportunity the better it’s going to be for Irish Rugby. A lot of things have to be in place for this kind of thing to continue to happen,” noted Farrell.
“To give lads an opportunity to show their growth, and what normally happens when they come into a different environment, they learn from each other, they go back to their provinces and their own personal development improves as well.
“So that can only be a good thing that we need to look at. But, if we look at the here and now, the continuity from the Māori game to this, and then the lads coming in now to play against the All Blacks XV, is a massive step up.
“And the right direction of a step up. We’ve seen some people thrive on the Emerging Ireland tour, and then they come into camp and see what the expectation is when they see the senior boys flying around in training, etc.
“It can only be a good thing for them, and they get to show their worth at a different level against what is going to be a very strong New Zealand side on Friday night.”
The addition of the Ireland ‘A’ match has certainly added to the coaching workload but Farrell would have it no other way. He wants the players to thrive under pressure, both in training against the senior side and in the heat of battle against an elite New Zealand selection.
On managing the preparations for back-to-back games, he admitted: “It’s been fantastic, it’s been great. It’s been different and I like it being different. I don’t like people just going through the motions and just ticking boxes as far as schedules are concerned, etc.
“We’ve had two teams going against each other (in training) which we don’t normally get. We normally get lads going against each other who know exactly what’s going on.
“So the vibe in and around the place has been perfect for us moving forward. It has been a great experience for everyone.
“Nice to have everyone in the room and to acknowledge where everyone’s at and see who is coming in, that’s very exciting for us all to be part of.
“You can see from a lot of those lads coming back from the Emerging Ireland tour, they understand what it takes. Delivering that on a different level is their next step on the ladder and it’s going to be very interesting on Friday night.”
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is delighted to announce the return of the ‘A’ Interprovincial Men’s Championship which will kick off next month.
The times and dates of the opening three rounds of the Championship before Christmas have been confirmed, with a similar points-scoring system as used in the URC. A Championship winner will be declared after the final round of matches in May and the IRFU will be commissioning a legacy trophy to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Welcoming the news, IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys commented:
“We’re delighted to kick-start the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship which will provide a host of players with a further means of developing in a meaningful competition. With the success of the Emerging Ireland Tours, coupled with the return of an ‘A’ international against England next year, it is vital that we continue to provide players at provincial and Club levels with opportunities to impress outside of the traditional URC and EPCR fixture windows.
“Discussions have been ongoing for some time to provide players with meaningful games and all four provinces are unanimously supportive of this competition. It is also great to see provinces taking matches around their local Clubs.
“It is anticipated that as the competition progresses over the coming seasons these fixtures won’t clash with Energia All-Ireland League fixtures for the most part, thus potentially also offering players from the Club game with an opportunity to impress.
“This competition will form another important part of the representative pathway from Energia AIL to URC levels for Academy players upwards over the coming seasons.”
The dates for the post-Christmas fixtures will be confirmed in due course. Ticket details will be confirmed via the respective provinces.
IRFU 150 Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship Fixtures:
Saturday, 16th November:
Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’ (Creggs RFC, 1pm)
Friday, 22nd November:
Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ballymacaran Park, 3pm), Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (Lakelands, 5pm)
Friday, 29th November:
Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (New Ormond Park, 3pm)
Friday, 20th December:
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (tbc, 3pm)
Saturday, 21st December:
Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ollie Campbell Park, 2pm)
Weekend of 28/29 December:
Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc), Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 9/10 May:
Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’ (tbc), Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 16/17 May:
Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (tbc), Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
IRFU Announces Return Of ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship
Squad Update | Munster Prepare For All Blacks XV At Thomond
