Casey is coming into the Ireland team after good form with Munster
Craig Casey has burst onto the scene and his impressive form for Munster has seen him get international success.
Casey is skilled at scrum time and his passes are pinpoint.
Read more: Ireland Six Nations squad
Ten things you should know about Craig Casey
1. Craig Casey was born on 19 April 1999 in Limerick Ireland. He stands at 5ft 5in (1.65m) and weighs 12st (76kg).
2. He plays for Munster and won the club’s Young Player of the Year during the 2020-21 season.
3. Casey was first capped for Ireland in 2021 against Italy. He won the Triple Crown with the team during the 2022 Six Nations.
4. In 2019 he was promoted to Munster’s bench and in line to make his club debut. Conor Murray had an injury in the warm-up and so Casey’s debut was unexpected. His grandmother, Mary, was watching from home and heard the news. At half-time she went down to the ground and said to the stewards per The 42: “I’m Craig Casey’s grandmother and my grandson’s playing in there. Will you please let me in?” The stewards allowed her to enter and she watched as Casey ran on in the second half.
Delighted to become an ambassador for @midwestsimon .Having worked with them before, I’m excited to be able to help in any way I can. After the past year I’ve realised how important it is to represent the community especially those most vulnerable.#supportsimon #socialgrocery pic.twitter.com/bydrMezGvb
— Craig Casey (@CraigCasey9) June 15, 2021
5. Casey has received a lot of comments about his height but he says he doesn’t care if he’s “small”. He told Pundit Arena: “I’ve always kind of taken it as a challenge to me. I love the challenge of being small. You look at Faf de Klerk and Aaron Smith, probably the two smallest in the world and they’re absolutely brilliant as well so they’re the two that I’ve looked at to try and grow my game as well.”
6. Casey is the nephew of former Munster player Mossy Lawler.
7. During his time playing for Ireland’s youth teams he won the U20 Six Nations Grand Slam in 2019.
8. Casey played football, Gaelic football and hurling as a child.
Can we get @CraigCasey9 on a plane back from New Zealand in time for thrown-in at Croke Park on Sunday? @LimerickCLG pic.twitter.com/BxYHxscTUX
— Conor McNamara (@ConorMcNamaraIE) July 14, 2022
9. He posts regularly with his partner Jenny.
10. Casey says his dad has been the biggest influence on his career. He told Rugby World: “He coached me up until U15 with Shannon, then went on to coach me in schools rugby. He’s played a huge role in my development. Even now he’s a great person to be able to have conversations with, where he can give me honest feedback on games.”
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