Less than ideal build-up leaves Casey pleased to leave Rome on top

A troublesome back injury prevented Craig Casey from taking a full part in training.

BATTLE FOR PLACES: Ireland's Craig Casey. Pic: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

A bad back in the build-up and a shoulder in the throat at Stadio Olimpico will be two of the more painful memories of Craig Casey’s first Guinness Six Nations start but the Ireland scrum-half left Italy yesterday in an entirely positive frame of mind.

In many ways, the hard work may just be starting for Casey, with first-choice number nine Jamison Gibson-Park set for a return from the hamstring injury he sustained shortly before Ireland’s opening game in Wales, which gave the Munster scrum-half the opportunity to feature in all three games of Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations campaign.