Craig Casey has opened up about the aftereffects of the brutal tackle he suffered against South Africa in the summer, as well as his harrowing family history with head injury.
It comes in the aftermath of another concerning moment for the Limerick man last weekend in his side's Champions Cup victory over Stade Francais at Thomond Park.
During Munter's 33-7 victory Stade Francais lock Baptiste Pesenti lifted Casey upside down until his head was the closest part of him to the ground. While on this occassion Casey landed safely, the act was enough for Pesenti to receive a red card along with a two week suspension.
“I was trying to get my hand to the ground but I couldn’t reach, so that’s how tall your man was. I was still about two feet off,” he told the Irish Examiner about the incident before Friday night's game against Castres.
“I was like ‘What the f**k! How tall is he?’ And thankfully I got to the side. It was grand, it was grand… but that’s part of it, like, part of being the smallest player on the pitch. I’m used to it now.”
Craig Casey speaks about family history of head injury
These incidents undoubtedly strike fear into Casey's family due to the tragic death of his grandfather Pat Lawler at the age of 40 during an inter-firm match in Limerick. An annual underage tournament has been staged by UL Bohemians in his honour ever since.
“Look, it’s fine for me, I’m kinda of used to it. Obviously it’s part and parcel of rugby, you hope it doesn’t happen often,” Casey said.
“But for my family, I think it’s very difficult because my grandfather actually died on the rugby field. He was playing a charity game when he was 40, (he died) with a head knock.
“It’s very tough for my grandmother and my mother to watch on and see that, especially when you see how far away from home we were in South Africa."
The incident in South Africa saw Casey sustain concussion during Ireland's first test match against the Springboks last summer. Casey was tackled by former Munster teammate RG Snyman with his head bouncing off the pitch.
He missed the second test the following week and remembers little of the immediate post-match activities. Casey had only ever once previously ended up unconcious on the field, during a Senior Cup match with Ardscoil Rís.
“In Senior Cup, I was up and about after 20 seconds and I was fine. But when your mother is watching that from halfway across the globe, and you’re on oxygen and stuff like that after what has happened in her family, I’d say that’s fairly harrowing.
“It was grand. Like I said, it’s part and parcel of rugby, there were no grudges held, to be honest,” the 25-year-old said before he joked that Snyman leaving Munster for Leinster was “way worse”.
“He [Snyman] did [apologise]. But I don’t actually remember the changing room, to be honest. I don’t remember anything from probably about an hour-and-a-half after the knockout.
“I thought I was pretty much knocked out for an hour, but it was actually only a few minutes. I have no recollection of anything in the changing room afterwards."
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