Bob Casey is revered at London Irish in his role as club captain and the only current Ireland international in the team. While the supporters will be clad in green and singing the Fields of Athenry as their heroes take on Leicester in the Guinness Premiership Final at Twickenham on Saturday, the stark truth is that apart from Casey, the rest of the players are "foreign."

Irish are made up of men from all around the rugby world, except for Ireland, thanks to the hardline edict from the national selectors of the Grand Slam winners. The message is very clear to any aspiring young Irishman: If you want to play for Ireland then come home.

That is why prop Mike Ross is quitting Harlequins, where he has been a key component in their excellent season, and joining Leinster and London Wasps scrum-half Eoin Reddan is making the same move.

It has been made very clear to these talents that Ireland caps will be much easier to collect if they are playing for one of the country's leading provinces.

Casey has heard the same argument but has refused to turn his back on the club he calls "home" and while it has cost him caps over the last seven years - he has played just five times for Ireland - the 6ft 8ins lock has no regrets.

Casey said: "I have spoken to the Ireland management and going back to Dublin would not be the right move for me. I am going to see my career out here at Irish which is my home away from home.

"I knew I would be making it hard for myself if I stayed here but I have no regrets and I will be part of the Ireland senior tour to Canada and the USA this summer, which is great."

Numerous head coaches at the club have tried to change the Ireland management's attitude and the situation reached an all-time low during Eddie O'Sullivan's reign as national boss.

Now, with Declan Kidney in charge, there is more flexibility being shown, although the basic message remains the same.

It is one that Declan Danaher has heard throughout his decade at the club and the back-row forward goes into Saturday's final at Twickenham knowing that the outfit he joined is fundamentally different.

When Danaher (left) made his debut, the team featured Ireland internationals including Conor O'Shea, Justin Bishop and Rob Henderson - giving the squad a very strong bond with supporters across the water.

Danaher's parents are from Kerry and Limerick and it appeared natural that the flanker would opt for Ireland until Clive Woodward spotted his potential and picked him for England A. It is a decision that Danaher has "come to terms with" as the departure of the man who won England the World Cup ended Twickenham's interest in a player who had turned out for Ireland at Under-19 level.

Danaher, 29 and London born, is the club's longest-serving player and said: "If I had opted for Ireland I may have had to go over there to play. There were more Ireland internationals at the club when I joined and times do change and less guys are coming here to play.

"It is a shame because the fans love to see Ireland players in the side. Maybe those guys think they won't get picked for Ireland if they did come over to the Premiership.

"I want to win badly on Saturday and love to scrap for 80 mins in every match. We face a really tough assignment against Leicester. I have played 200 games for the club and I want to finish on a high. "

Although the London Irish jersey remains a big seller both in Ireland and the United States, the players who wear it in the Premiership and Heineken Cup speak with accents from South Africa, Argentina, Tonga, Samoa and England.

One of the key reasons that Irish have not lost touch with their roots, despite the absence of Ireland-qualified players, is the way the professional outfit was formed in 1997 and opened their doors to non-Irish players.

More than 640 club members bought shares in the new company that then absorbed what was left of the failed professional teams at Richmond and London Scottish in 1999 but the Irish identity was never compromised.

While the the professional operation play at Reading they train at Sunbury (home to the club since 1931), where the Irish's thriving amateur section and multitude of junior and mini-teams are based.

This ensures the two different sections remain inextricably linked and why St Patrick's Day matches at the Madejski Stadium attract more than 20,000 supporters who follow the team out of London and down the M4.

And despite attempts by rugby chiefs across the Irish Sea to disenfranchise the exiles who live in the South East of England, they will turn out in their thousands at Twickenham on Saturday to cheer on the men who still honour the famous jersey.