New Ireland skipper Craig Casey explains what is ‘going to be important’ after naming captains who have most influenced him through ‘living in their pockets’
Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey
Ireland have a new skipper this summer and Craig Casey can’t wait to lead the side out when they take on Georgia in Tbilisi on July 5.
The fixture, which is the first of a two-match tour that ends the following weekend away to Portugal in Lisbon, will see the Munster scrum-half become Ireland’s 112th captain since 1875.
It was interim head coach Paul O’Connell who delivered the news to him, ringing on June 3 – the day before the squad announcement – to ask if he would be interested in captaining a tour party in which 11 of the 32 players are uncapped.
Casey didn’t hesitate in taking up O’Connell’s offer and while some fans might not be convinced that the 26-year-old is the right man for the role, he believes he has absorbed plenty of experiences from his career so far to leave him primed for the leadership role.
Ireland are now in camp in Dublin preparing for a trip they are undertaking minus head coach Andy Farrell, 16 players and a raft of assistant coaches who are part of the British and Irish Lions in Australia.
‘You take stuff from everyone…’
Described by O’Connell as “a real leader with a strong personality”, Casey has now revealed the captains who have most influenced him. “There have been lots of lads that you can pick up lots of different things from,” he began.
“The obvious ones are Caelan (Doris), Peter (O’Mahony), Johnny (Sexton) – I have learned an awful lot from them, just from being around them and living in their pockets for the last few years in camp.
“You see how they work on a day-to-day basis, not just as a leader but as themselves because that is going to be important to me, being the best version of myself on the field when we go out against Georgia and Portugal.
“My performance is probably the biggest thing and how those lads looked after their performances is a huge thing while also looking after the whole squad. I have taken a lot from that.
“Obviously, Tadhg (Beirne) has been the captain in Munster this year and he has done a phenomenal job for us. There have been a few things I will take from him, but you take stuff from everyone.
“There have been leaders who haven’t been captain, haven’t been lucky enough to be captain over the last few years and they are really, really good leaders.
“There is a good group that I have learned a lot from over the last few years so hopefully I can take that forward and grow the group over the summer and really make it a special place to be.”