Back in December, making my way to Limerick, I bumped into Craig Casey as he headed for Dublin. Standing next to the sugar sachets and coffee swirlers, in a service station along the N7, we exchanged a few words about the injury that had ground his promising season to a halt.
Just a couple of weeks prior, Casey had badly injured his knee on Champions Cup duty for Munster, against Castres. It would wipe four months from his season and cost him a key role in Ireland’s Six Nations title defence plans. Casey was already focused, during our brief chat, on getting back to help Munster finish a testing season on a high.
As it turned out, Casey did return and made seven starts (scoring two tries and assisting four more) as Munster made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship. Munster would have to settle for only that. Casey lost none of his sharpness and shone in wins over La Rochelle, Connacht and Benetton, when he kicked a crucial conversion. It speaks to his impact, and the URC having large gaps around other competitions, that the Limerick native was named in the league’s ‘Elite XV’.
On Wednesday, Casey was rewarded for his resilience, form and leadership. Paul O’Connell – Ireland’s latest interim head coach – selected the 26-year-old to captain his touring squad, to face Georgia and Portugal in June.
Casey was honest enough, last month, to tell reporters he was “gutted” to miss out on his main goal – making the British & Irish Lions squad. This is one hell of a consolation prize for a lad that only ever wanted to play rugby for a living. It also indicates how highly the scrum-half is valued at a time when Conor Murray has bowed out and Jamison Gibson-Park may be rounding the last bend of his Test career.
Lads like Max Deegan, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes will all be keenly aware that another chance may never come along if they fail to impress.
One of the big takeaways from O’Connell’s 32-man squad is the cohort of nines that will feature against Georgia and Portugal. Casey, with 19 Test caps, is now the veteran of a new-look trio. Also included are Ulster’s Nathan Doak, also handy off the kicking tee, and Connacht’s Player of the Year, Ben Murphy. The 24-year-old is the son of Ulster head coach Richie Murphy. He is playing so well, out west, that Matthew Devine was limited to just three starts, this season and linked with a potential switch to La Rochelle.
Doak and Murphy are two of 11 uncapped players in the Ireland squad. Tom Ahern, who can play second row and blindside, Tommy O’Brien and exciting Connacht prospect, Hugh Gavin, jump off the page.
Lions call-ups for Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier, allied with Peter O’Mahony’s retirement and Caelan Doris’ shoulder injury, mean Ireland will field a completely fresh back row this summer. Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney are the squad regulars, but lads like Max Deegan, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes will all be keenly aware that another chance may never come along if they fail to impress. Competition here will be fierce, and yet there is no place for the unfortunate John Hodnett.
The IRFU has opted to leave Rob Herring and Iain Henderson at home, reasoning they are not long back from injuries. Connacht’s Darragh Murray is the only out-and-out lock in the squad, meaning O’Connell will be looking at Ahern, Ryan Baird and Cormac Izuchukwu there in at least one of the games.
Coming to the centres, it is noteworthy that Stuart McCloskey has been included while Tom Farrell (10 months his junior) has missed out. Farrell proved Munster’s signing of the season by scoring 10 tries and assisting five more in his 25 starts. He won the URC’s ‘Playmaker’ award and his partnership with Alex Nankivell was one of Munster’s only rolling positives this season. Fresh off their side’s controversial URC shoot-out exit to Sharks, Munster fans are rallying online to ask why Hodnett and Farrell are not travelling. O’Connell is not fronting a press conference on the back of this squad announcement, so queries on both non-selections must wait.
Gavin has only played eight times for Connacht…but the 21-year-old is clearly someone the Ireland coaches want along for a closer look.
Interestingly, Robbie Henshaw ‘was not available due to injury’ but remains on Farrell’s Lions stand-by list. It makes sense to leave him at home, should the Lions not require his services, as Ireland’s main quartet of centres have an average age of 32 years and seven months.
McCloskey is the known quantity and he will provide ballast and experience to aid the likes of Gavin and Tommy O’Brien. Gavin has only played eight times for Connacht, this season, but has benefitted from two full runs with the Ireland U20s. The 21-year-old is clearly someone the Ireland coaches want along for a closer look. While seven of those Connacht starts came at outside centre, he was selected in the 12 jersey for his Ireland ‘A’ debut against England, back in February.
As for Tommy O’Brien, his form this season has been so good he would have forced his way into a full-strength Ireland squad if they were heading off for Tier One scalps. O’Brien turned 27 at the end of May. The only thing that has prevented a full Ireland debut, to date, has been a wretched run of injuries.
The Lions hoovered up Irish second rows, hookers, back rows and centres, but were happy to head Down Under without their 10s. Simon Easterby clearly took a read from Farrell, before he departed on Lions sabbatical, by starting Sam Prendergast in the first four outings of the 2025 Six Nations. I was surprised Farrell did not take one of either Jack Crowley or Prendergast to Australia. He ultimately did what was best for the Lions and left O’Connell with a selection headache less than nine months old, but one that already feels ancient.
Looking at the other newcomers, Paddy McCarthy, Stephen Smyth and Shayne Bolton all make the cut after getting a taste of camp with Ireland ‘A’. Smyth is the latest off Leinster’s dynamic hooker production line while Bolton ended his season with six tries in seven games for Connacht and can cover either wing. The Pretoria native is Irish-qualified through his grandmother, Noirín. Michael Milne’s reward for leaving Leinster in search of first-team rugby was four loosehead starts for Munster and his first ever senior squad call-up.
All of this before we get to the seasoned pros O’Connell has been able to name in his squad.
Finlay Bealham (51 caps) was unfortunate to miss out on Lions selection, but may yet end up scrumming down in his native Australia. Jacob Stockdale (38 caps) has returned to the sort of form many of us feared had been lost in the mists of time, while these upcoming matches are pivotal in the Test futures of Baird (27) and Tom O’Toole (16).
Eleven months on from appearing in both Tests during Ireland’s drawn series against South Africa – including two drop-goals in a stunning Kings Park victory – Ciarán Frawley will be desperate for meaningful minutes and a clear brief. The fast-tracking of Prendergast – one part form, one part providence – shunted Frawley back down the line. He goes into the summer tour as a good option at 10, 12 and 15 but first-choice for none.
