‘Please God I’m selected’ – Munster star relishing ‘class occasion’ against Leinster after ‘very tough week’ put to bed
Craig Casey in action for Munster.
Munster scrum-half Craig Casey is excited by the “challenge” of taking on Leinster at a packed Croke Park when the two rivals collide in the United Rugby Championship.
Graham Rowntree’s charges were in a dominant mood on Saturday when they saw off Ospreys 23-0 in awful conditions at Virgin Media Park in Cork in a bonus-point success.
Leinster meanwhile put in a first-half masterclass as they cruised to a comfortable 35-5 triumph away to Benetton, making it three victories out of three for them in the URC.
Bouncing back
For Munster, though their result was a much-needed response to last week’s shock loss at Zebre Parma and Casey was thrilled with how they performed in the wind and rain.
“It was a very tough week and we had to look at ourselves and proved that tonight, everything we were talking about in the week,” he told RTE Sport following the match.
“It (wind and rain) kind of almost suited us tonight, I think. We needed to be physical and I think the weather almost prompted us into that physical battle and it suited us.
“We put a plan together probably on Thursday when we saw that the weather was looking pretty poor and I think we nailed that to a tee and it was a good game today.”
Casey was named Player of the Match in Cork as he led his forward pack around the field and impressed in his general game in a result that puts Munster in third position.
Looking ahead to their upcoming meeting with Irish rivals Leinster at Croke Park in a clash that has reportedly already sold 70,000 tickets, the busy scrum-half was excited.
“We know Leinster are quality. Looks almost like a sell-out, Croke Park as well, I can’t wait to play there and please God I’m selected,” said the in-form Ireland number nine.
“What an opportunity, what a challenge. We know it’s going to be a tough game up there. We know what Leinster bring and it will be a class occasion and I’m looking forward to it.”
However, Munster could head into the URC fixture further depleted after influential trio Peter O’Mahony, Mike Haley and Oli Jager left the field with injuries over the weekend.
Injury concerns
“We picked up a few knocks but we’ll see what Monday presents in terms of scans,” head coach Rowntree told the Irish Mirror. “I’ll wait until Monday. It’s another week, another couple of injuries in the first half.
“We’re struck at the moment, it happens, there’s an ebb and a flow to every season in terms of injuries and we’re a bit skinny at the moment, but we’ll get through it.
“We’ll see what Monday morning brings. We’ll see how those guys pull up. We have a huge game next week now but it’s about getting bodies on the field, so we’ll have to modify what we do on Monday and we’ll see what we can put on the field.”
