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Diminutive scrum-half Craig Casey is content to be the butt of the jokes after confirming his Ireland team-mates regularly \u201ctake the p***\u201d regarding his height.<\/p>\n
Casey is comfortably the smallest member of Andy Farrell\u2019s 33-man World Cup squad at just 5ft 5in.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old was immediately teased after arriving in France when captain Johnny Sexton acted as though he was the team mascot during Ireland\u2019s open training session in front of 12,000 spectators in their base city of Tours.<\/p>\n
Munster player Casey, who emerged from the tunnel holding Sexton\u2019s hand and then posed with him for a photograph, feels there is little point in rallying against the good-natured mockery, particularly with squad \u201csheriffs\u201d imposing penalties.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey like to take the p*** out of my height, as you can tell, but you just have to roll with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you don\u2019t roll with it, you\u2019ll probably be fined.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a few sheriffs in the camp that keep everyone on their toes. I\u2019d say if I fought against it, I would probably be in big trouble so I just get on with. It\u2019s good craic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casey, who is competing for action with Jamison Gibson-Park and Conor Murray, is still awaiting his World Cup bow after acting as water carrier during Saturday\u2019s thumping 82-8 win over Romania in sweltering Bordeaux.<\/p>\n
He hopes to be named in the matchday 23 for this weekend\u2019s Pool B clash with Tonga in Nantes and believes it would be \u201cunbelievable\u201d to make his tournament debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exactly where you want to be as an Irish rugby player, at a World Cup being involved in this group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve all talked about what the buzz has been for the last two or three years and it\u2019s definitely increased since we got over here, the excitement levels within the group are brilliant.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe first two weeks here were definitely hard work but we\u2019re mixing it with the craic as well so it\u2019s a very enjoyable place to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be unbelievable to make my World Cup debut, if it happens. You have to be ready and when an opportunity does come, you\u2019ve got to take it with both hands and try and cement your place.\u201d<\/p>\n
After taking on Tonga, Ireland\u2019s bid to reach the quarter-finals will be decided during pivotal Paris appointments with South Africa and Scotland.<\/p>\n
Casey and the majority of his team-mates gathered to see the Springboks defeat the Scots 18-3 on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
He is braced for a physical encounter against the reigning world champions on September 23 at Stade de France, while also expecting similar this coming weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a good 25 of us in the team room watching it, so there was a good buzz around that, a very physical game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cScotland played very well first half, as well as South Africa, definitely physical.<\/p>\n
\u201c(They) just outmuscled them in the end, that\u2019s what we\u2019re expecting in a few weeks, that physical encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Speaking about Tonga, Casey added: \u201cWe know how tough the Pacific island teams are and we\u2019re going to have to be at our best.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to go up another level (from Romania).\u201d<\/p>\n