Gibson-Park, Casey, Doak, Blade, McGrath, Patterson/Coughlan, Shanahan, Murphy, Gunne, Foley…the list is, by definition, finite writes There is Only Only One F in Foley
00:01, 14 Jan 2026Updated 06:48, 14 Jan 2026
Ireland’s Red alert over Craig Casey(Image: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
Craig Casey’s injury problems have, shock/horror, highlighted just how shallow the particular rugby pool he swims in is.Scrum-half in Ireland is a finite position; there are only four professional teams, only four players can wear no9, the next four in line can only gain some game time off the bench on any given week.That not as obvious a remark as it seems; France has 14 top flight clubs, England has 10, and each league has eight clubs in European Champions Cup rugby each season.This season Ireland had only two clubs, Leinster and Munster, in the Champions Cup. Ulster and Connacht are a tier down playing Challenge Cup rugbyRight now Jamison Gibson-Park, Craig Casey, Nathan Doak and Caolin Blade are first choice at Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht respectively and even then only the first two of them named have experienced starting a game for Ireland.All of which emphasises just how important to Ireland a fit Casey is right now.Speaking yesterday, Munster’s Denis Leamy was coy about the extent of the A/C joint damage the Red no9 picked up last weekend in Toulon but suggested it was not as bad as first feared:“We were very worried after the (Toulon) game but I think it’s relatively good news.”That doesn’t mean he’ll play this weekend, obviously, he’s got a significant injury to his A/C but hopefully it’s not going to be too long term.”Logic suggests ‘significant’ is a key word there and there will be an IRFU doctor/coach/secret memo all over this.Given this is an A/C joint problem there would need to be zero risk for him to play this Saturday against Castres – just 19 days ahead of the opening Six Nations game against France.It’s a game where Munster almost certainly need to win to stay alive in the competition but when it comes to ‘Country vs Province’, as Spock might say in Star Trek, the needs of the many must be weighed against the needs of the few.Many suspect, despite there being nothing written down, this is a call Andy Farrell – a week away from releasing his initial Six Nations squad – can ask the IRFU to make.Knee deep no doubt in paperwork and trying to watch some footage he hadn’t been expecting to watch at a point where none of this background staff Simon Easterby, Johnny Sexton, Paul O’Connell, John Fogarty played scrum-half, Farrell doesn’t have a lot of options outside of JGP. Of the remaining provincial front-liners Connacht’s Blade (31) has a serious Achilles injury and won’t be available for the Six Nations.Ulster Nathan Doak (24) has seemed a contender for some time now and played last February’s A game with England but for reasons never fully explained he has failed to make the step up to Ireland training squads.The favoured reserves at the respective provinces are Luke McGrath, Paddy Patterson/Ethan Coughlan, David Shanahan and Ben Murphy.Connacht’s Murphy (24) was the reserve no9 on Ireland summer tour of Georgia and Portugal and where he played 10 minutes and 19 minutes as understudy to Casey. Worryingly has already had spells at Leinster – where he got 19 minutes of Champions Cup experience – and Munster before being allowed to leave.Luke McGrath (32) last played for Ireland at RWC 2019 where he started against Russia and appeared as a sub in the other four games; following which he was unsubtly jettisoned by Farrell in favour of his then Leinster understudy Gibson-Park.None of Patterson (27), Coughlan (23) or Shanahan (32) have progressed as far as an Ireland A squad as yet.To recap, Gibson-Park and McGrath are the only fit options that have played Six Nations previously; Casey and Blade are injured; Doak and Murphy have two Ireland A caps each; Shanahan, Patterson and Coughlan have yet to get capped at the second level.Should the worst fears about Casey transpire there is a school of thought that, in emergencies, it can pay turn to a club scrum-half who trains with the first team out-half through the season, knows him from the environment, etc, etc.Assuming Sam Prendergast or Harry Byrne is to start in Paris the wider Leinster squad’s scrum-halves are Fintan Gunne (22) who has 55 minutes as a sub for Ireland A and 18 minutes as a Champions Cup sub for the club; Cormac Foley (26) has only played URC.Ireland will announce their Six Nations squad on January 21st, that group moving to Faro for warm weather training and away from the prying eyes of the media and hotel-to-HPC traffic!Gibson-Park will be the feller wrapped in layers and layers of cotton wool with the big question pertaining as to who will accompany him.Logic says McGrath as back-up, not least as he has plenty of experience of playing with Sam Prendergast while Nathan Doak’s 20-game Champions Cup experience, 11 starts and nine as a sub will surely count for something.The only other option seems to be picking up the phone to the 125-times capped Conor Murray(2011-25) who retired at the end of last season and asking him if he still has his boots or thrown them away; “Do ya think you could do 10 minutes mate?”Sorry if I got hopes up, Murray hasn’t been seen next nor near an AIL club team since giving up the game.