Viewed from the outside, this looks like Munster‘s most pressurised game of the season; a winner-takes-all shoot-out against Benetton at a sold-out Musgrave Park on Friday (kick-off 8pm). To the victor, a place in both the playoffs and next season’s Champions Cup. To the losers, almost certainly neither.
But in the view of Craig Casey, they will embrace all the ramifications that come with this match.
“There’s no point shying away from the pressure,” he said. “Pressure is probably a privilege in this scenario. We’re four games from a trophy so if you’re being weighed down by pressure you’re probably in the wrong business.
“If we get our game on to the field is probably what we’re targeting, rather than trying to weigh ourselves down with pressure. But, look, there is pressure there, that’s the reality.”
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Champions Cup without Munster is ‘inconceivable’, says Craig Casey ahead of important Benetton showdown
Gordon D’Arcy on tough times in rugby: I cried in private. Leaned on those I trusted. I came out the other side
Munster will face probably the best Benetton side that has ever set foot on an Irish ground
Munster and the Champions Cup are synonymous. “We have no choice; we have to be there” admitted Casey. “It would be inconceivable not to be there. We’ve got to show up this weekend and do ourselves justice and then it’s knock-out rugby from then on, and you’ve got a chance to win a trophy.”
Have rugby fans stopped caring about the URC?
As Benetton showed in routing Glasgow 33-7 last Saturday, “they’re very dangerous,” he admits.
“They’re pretty much an Italian international side. You can only just look at that [Glasgow] game and go, ‘wow, they’re dangerous if we let them be’. So, we’re under no illusions as to how tough this game will be.
“The two threats they have in midfield are unbelievable players. [Tommaso] Menoncello is one of the best players in the world over the last few years as is [Nacho] Brex, his partner in crime. If you give them time on the ball and you let them drive at you, we’re probably going to be in trouble.
“So, it’s going to be about how we get our game going but also how we nullify their key threats.”
Due to the knee injury he sustained in Castres last December and sidelined him for three months, Casey has only played 16 games this season. “I’m fresh as. I’d love for the season to go on until August.”
I have a nice highlight reel, it’s about 25 minutes now, that I watch on the morning of the game
— Craig Casey
He freely admits to his disappointment about missing out on Lions selection. Rather than watch the names being read out alphabetically with his Munster teammates, Casey was at home on his own until the fateful moment.
“It’s hard sitting there watching the announcement and it’s going on for a good while. It looked like a cool little spectacle. You’re waiting, hoping for your name to be called out and then it went straight to Elliot Daly.”
A keen student of mental preparation and positive affirmation, the manner in which Casey returned after his injury lay-off spoke volumes for the extensive work he did with former teammate Andrew Conway.
“Because I still had that goal of trying to get on to the Lions and I didn’t have much time to wait, I needed to hit the ground running,” he said. “So I used him an awful lot during the injury, but now it’s probably just once a week, ticking off the things I need to tick off.”
He has always liked to watch clips of “world-class scrumhalves” the night before games.
“I’ll watch Aaron Smith, [Antoine] Dupont and a bit of Jamo [Gibson-Park] just to get the juices flowing. Then, on the day of the game, I always watch my best bits from the previous few games. Over the injury I had enough time to go back and watch every single game I’ve played for Munster and Ireland and then put together my best clips.
“I have a nice highlight reel, it’s about 25 minutes now, that I watch on the morning of the game. It’s nice to build that confidence and know when you are on it, you can do world-class things.”
Not having been involved in an Irish squad since November has made him appreciative of what he missed, so Casey sees the prospect of summer Tests away to Georgia and Portugal as more than mere compensation. “I would never put an Irish jersey down as second-choice. I wouldn’t give it that disrespect. The Lions is probably the pinnacle of a player’s career bar winning a World Cup, but putting on an Irish jersey and the tour ahead is very exciting.”
[ Results suggest Ulster and Connacht on a worrying slideOpens in new window ]
Casey has become the de facto Munster 9 this season, but when he exchanges a handshake with Conor Murray for the last time on Irish soil this Friday it will be a poignant moment.
“I’ve the utmost respect for Conor Murray,” said Casey, admitting how Murray has helped his kicking game and game management especially.
“He’s one of my good mates now. We’ve been feisty, we’ve been competitive, but it’s been a good competitiveness. The career he’s had is something that I’d absolutely love to do, the things that he’s done and I’ve utmost respect for that man.
“I think I’ll always be bouncing things off him no matter if he’s in the building or not. I’ve got that relationship with him now over the last four years that I could definitely ring him up once he’s gone and ask him a few questions and he’d be happy to help me out.
“But I’d say I had him driven demented for the first few years of my career. I’ve kind of eased off the last few.”
“Definitely I’ve become a way better player from working with him. I think the calmness piece is probably the thing. Nothing really fazes him. I’d love to have the frame he has and be like an extra backrow and make tackles like he does, but I don’t think I’m anywhere near that.
Craig Casey has been named as the newest official ambassador for Irish brand C11 Recovery, a leading provider of elite recovery equipment for athletes and organisations worldwide.
