Timothy McGrath
My first point would be that Casey was outstanding in his attack, defence and overall perception of the game. Probably his best game for Ireland to date. I doubt that Faz would have taken him off at 50′ in favour of Murray – who nevertheless proves himself to be a hugely experienced and competent scrumhalf. We are lucky to have both. My second point is that Casey looked completely out of it from the TV pictures. It was the bang of his head on the tough ground that knocked him out. I don’t think there was foul play involved. But when a player – from any side – is so gravely injured, which was witnessed by the supporters on the big screen, the normal protocol is to shut the public address system down and applaud the injured player off the field.
I cannot think of any rugby ground in the world where that mark of respect is not honoured. I know we have a lot of South African Rugby fans tuning into this site, and I hope that some of them will express similar sentiments to my own. But there is an aroma of gracelessness amongst the South African Rugby public that surfaces all too often, which makes me ponder what they think the game of Rugby is all about. Is it about self-assertiveness, “We the big boys, you the minnows – ha! ha! ha!”? Although it was wonderful to see so many of the natives of that beautiful country in the stand, it made me wonder have the South African Rugby Community embraced this sport as the last bastion of the horrific apartheid regime that suffocated the owners of the land that was colonised by the Portuguese, the Dutch and latterly the British Empire, none of whom had any rights to occupy those territories? I think the exemplary work of de Klerk and subsequently Mandela remains unfinished. I mention all this with humility and respect. It’s just that I don’t hear the moderate, sympathetic and sportsmanlike voices flooding this site.