Casey and London Irish are not lacking any confidence

EUROPEAN CUP LONDON IRISH v TOULOUSE:WHEN BOB CASEY recently signed up with London Irish for another four years, it was a declaration by the former Blackrock College player that his rugby career would enter its twilight years as a Premiership player.

Now 29-years-old, he will remain at the Exiles, where he has prospered, until he is 33. Then? The secondrow shrugs his shoulders. "We'll see," he says.

It has been an occasionally disappointing career, and if any player has suffered from the syndrome of being feted abroad but largely ignored in his own parish, it is the London Irish lock. Ireland never came calling under Eddie O'Sullivan but here around their old grounds in Sunbury, Casey is seen as one of the Premiership's outstanding secondrows and this season, as a leader too.

While he stood in as captain for the injured Mike Catt in previous seasons, this year the Dubliner has led London Irish to their most successful season of the modern era and along with Nick Kennedy, has terrorised lineouts in England and Europe.

In the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Perpignan, Casey and Kennedy reduced quality ball from that source to a trickle. "I was lucky enough to captain the team when Catt was out injured over the last couple of years. It's not that big a thing," he says. "The 10 will call the plays along with the nine. I just get on with the business of calling the lineouts."

"Against Perpignan, we destroyed their lineout, really," he adds. "They probably produced 25 per cent of their ball from lineouts in terms of useable possession, whereas we had 70 or 80 or even 85 per cent. It is going to be hard to put pressure on the Toulouse lineout but we have got to do that, make them throw to areas we want them to throw to and put pressure on there.

"I don't think anyone has given us a chance. But we have confidence. Twickenham is just down the road. It's a good, wide pitch. We are all in pretty good form but there is more in this team. We've won 15 or 16 out of the last 20 games or so. We've created enough chances but maybe if anything, we may not be putting enough away."

Since strength and fitness coach Allan Ryan arrived from Wasps, London Irish have been able to add a large step to the smaller ones they've been taking year by year. Along with being a maturing side, the various elements coach Brian Smith, Catt and more recently Ryan, have been adding has allowed London Irish to quietly blossom in the suburbs.

"One of the main things has been the work Allan has done. You can see now all the boys are more explosive, leaner and it is more rugby specific stuff that he has them doing in the gym and I think that's helped," says the captain. "The last game against Perpignan gave us a bit more experience. We keep responding to each match . . . Games like that one really stand to us. There was massive pressure on us being at home. Perpignan had beaten Stade Français in Paris for the first time and had beaten Bourgoin in Bourgoin. There is no doubt they were coming over here to do a job on us."

The influence of Smith and Catt is similar to the philosophy of former England coach Brian Ashton. London Irish encourage their players to try to make things happen. Catt, who is injured, is a player who particularly sees his principal role as probing, creating, sparking off ideas along the back line and with players like Shane Geraghty and outside, Delon Armitage and Samoan Sailosi Tagicakibau, they have plenty of edge.

"The thing about the team is there is no lack of confidence. They don't need that much motivation and we don't get nervous," says Casey. "We really want to play, to attack and we know that not all of it is going to come off."

Casey has started 27 of a possible 30 matches this season. By the time his contract ends, he will have been with the club 10 years. By then, and he won't be holding his breath, maybe the new Ireland coach will have seen something he likes.