Duncan Casey: The challenges of returning to GAA after 12 years out of the game

Former Munster rugby player Duncan Casey charts the challenges of returning to his GAA roots after a 12-year absence

Former Munster Rugby star Duncan Casey (backrow, fifth from let) made his return to Gaelic football with Belgium GAA earlier this month.

People are usually surprised to hear how long it took for me to start enjoying rugby. I didn’t particularly like it until I played U16s. The privilege of being coached by Shannon legend Eddie Price played no small part in changing my attitude that season, but more than anything, it was the two-and-a-half stone I put on during the preceding summer holidays.

I was always hoping I would ‘fill out’ someday and thankfully, it happened in the middle of 2006. You see, prior to that, I was a bit of a rake. I was reasonably strong for a skinny fella and always had decent skills, but simple physics plays a bigger role in rugby than virtually any other team sport.