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Patient Casey has eye on Irish return
CAPTAINING London Irish to silverware and fighting his way back from
what many believe is unjust international exile. Those are the aims of
Bob Casey — for the remainder of the season that is.
Take his lack of international recognition first. You and 15,000 other
London Irish supporters might think it’s not right. Many of the
more venerated voices of rugby punditry at home, like Tony Ward, might
thing it’s not right. Hell, big old Bob himself might think it’s
not right. You try getting him to say it though.
The view from 6ft 8in is sweet and never bitter.
“Always, always,” he says looking down at the last in a long
line of comparative pigmies with tape recorders who’ve come to talk
today.
“In rugby I’ll always dream of putting a green jersey on.
I’ve just got to keep playing well for London Irish. If we have
a good run in the Heineken Cup you never know.”
Playing well he clearly is. Playing well he has been for the past five
seasons with London Irish: He was the club’s Players’ Player-of-the-Season
in 2003-04 and was the London Irish Supporters Club Player of the Season
in 2004-05.
But what do you have to do to get noticed around here? Given the IRFU’s
none-too-subtle policy of capping home-based players over exiles, does
it ever get frustrating?
“For sure,” says Casey, “but I knew when I moved over
here that’s the way it was going to be. The guys at home will be
seen. The selectors and stuff can’t see us. They only see what they
see on TV I suppose.”
To be fair, no-one would have complained if the selectors gave London
Irish’s stuttering opening to the season a miss. But things are
gradually coming together.
“We’ve got off to a slow start in the Premiership; it’s
been disappointing,” says Casey. “Thankfully we got that big
win against Glouscester at home and we deserved that; we out-played them.
We’ve got our boys back from the World Cup now. We have two wins
out of two in the Heineken Cup — maximum points. We’re beginning
to get a bit of form together. What we’ve got to do now is get some
consistency and
climb up that Premiership table.”
Climb the Premiership table. Blaze a trail through Europe. Become the
leading national line-out taker, again. Become top try-scorer too. Develop
a solution to world hunger and global warming. Do all that and maybe the
IRFU will pick up the phone.
n World Cup legend Martin Johnson said London Irish second-row Bob Casey
should be included in the next Ireland squad.
“Casey is a top player,” remarked the World Cup winning captain.
“And I’d look out for him being a second-row myself. I know
he has had some of the top line-out stats in the Premiership. He’s
a big hit in London Irish and it’s easy to see why. People get hung
up on age but Bob is still only 29. Don’t forget I was a bit older
than that when I won a World Cup with England.
“Ireland have been fortunate that they’ve had some very good
second-rows over the years,” he continued, “guys like Longwell,
Davidson, O’Connell and O Callaghan, but Bob Casey could be up there
too, definitely. He should be in the next Irish squad at least.”
Johnson famously led England to World Cup glory in 2003 at the age of
33. |
