ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, Brian Gleeson looked under the tree and found a brand new hurley with his name on it. The former Tipperary underage player took his new camán out for a puck around.
“I probably haven’t played a game for Jeez, four years nearly, so quite a long time,” Gleeson says.
“I went out hitting the ball up against the wall and the touch was fairly off, so it was definitely a long time ago.”
The 21-year-old represented Tipperary at U14 and U15 level, and was making good progress before Munster came calling. Now in his third full season with the province and on the fridges of the Ireland squad – dropping out of Andy Farrell’s November squad with injury – Gleeson has no regrets over choosing the oval ball. That said, the hurling itch creeps up every now and again.
“100%. It’s a sport I grew up playing and have a lot of time for, and with football as well.
“I suppose watching Tipperary go on and win the All-Ireland there this year and you know, having played with some of the players up along, it makes you, not jealous, but excited that you know people on the team and it gets the buzz around the county going.
But I’d say most of the lads would be saying the same about me going out and playing in Croke Park or in the south of France or wherever. So yeah, I wouldn’t trade rugby for the world.”
Growing up, Gleeson played his rugby with Thurles RFC and Rockwell, and his GAA at Loughmore-Castleiney, a parish which has provided Tipperary hurling with the McGrath family.
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“Oh sure the population of Loughmore is so small you know everyone there. So I’d know them well enough so it was great to see and to see John win Hurler of the Year was amazing as well, amazing for him and for the parish.
“The parish has just been going so well, they won the hurling county final again this year, so they’re just on a crazy roller-coaster road at the moment and everyone is behind them.”
Gleeson isn’t going too badly himself. There’s a good chance he would have debuted for Ireland in November, but a shoulder injury sustained in Munster’s Croke Park defeat of Leinster ruled him out of that Test window. With Farrell due to name his Six Nations squad next week, Gleeson will be right in the conversation again as he starts to build his minutes with Munster.
Gleeson came off the bench as Munster lost in Toulon. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The former Ireland U20 star returned to action against Ulster earlier this month, added 16 minutes off the bench in Toulon on Sunday, and is expected to get more when Castres visit Thomond Park tomorrow.
“If it is to be, I’d be very grateful,” Gleeson says of the Ireland squad.
“It is something I hope I can do one day and represent Ireland. Obviously, the time of the injury in November was poor, and I was absolutely gutted to miss out, but I just used that as motivation and tried to get back as soon as I could.
“I tried to get a few games to put my name somewhere in the line anyway, but I’ll just focus on the upcoming games rather than thinking about that.”
He now sports a sizeable scar along his left elbow, hidden by a brace on matchday which is there more as a mental security blanket than to prevent pain, with the issue now long cleared up. Building his fitness again, he’s hoping to get back to the eye-catching form which made him such a stand-out talent in his U20 days – where he was ever-present at number eight on the way to the 2023 Grand Slam.
Gleeson made a strong start to the season before injuring his elbow. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“If anything, I’ve improved (since playing U20s). Obviously you’re playing a completely different category of player, everyone is so much better, but the kind of breaks and stuff that I had during U20s, I felt like I showed that, especially before the injury at the start of the year.
“Look, I was shown good faith at the start of the year and I got a start in the first game and I was able to show glimpses and throughout the next couple of games I was able to show glimpses again. So hopefully if I can get back in the run of things again, I can show more of that.
“You need to be hungry to get on the ball,” he adds.
“Ball-carrying would be a strength of mine, so for me to be influential and impactful in games, I know myself I need to get my hands on the ball and that gives me confidence throughout the game if I can get my hands on the ball as much as I can.
“That would definitely be something I’d think about before a game and just say ‘I need to get my hands on the ball’, and that kind of gets me into games as well.”
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Munster's Gleeson on Ireland ambitions and his hurling itch
ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, Brian Gleeson looked under the tree and found a brand new hurley with his name on it. The former Tipperary underage player took his new camán out for a puck around.
“I probably haven’t played a game for Jeez, four years nearly, so quite a long time,” Gleeson says.
“I went out hitting the ball up against the wall and the touch was fairly off, so it was definitely a long time ago.”
The 21-year-old represented Tipperary at U14 and U15 level, and was making good progress before Munster came calling. Now in his third full season with the province and on the fridges of the Ireland squad – dropping out of Andy Farrell’s November squad with injury – Gleeson has no regrets over choosing the oval ball. That said, the hurling itch creeps up every now and again.
“100%. It’s a sport I grew up playing and have a lot of time for, and with football as well.
“I suppose watching Tipperary go on and win the All-Ireland there this year and you know, having played with some of the players up along, it makes you, not jealous, but excited that you know people on the team and it gets the buzz around the county going.
Growing up, Gleeson played his rugby with Thurles RFC and Rockwell, and his GAA at Loughmore-Castleiney, a parish which has provided Tipperary hurling with the McGrath family.
“Oh sure the population of Loughmore is so small you know everyone there. So I’d know them well enough so it was great to see and to see John win Hurler of the Year was amazing as well, amazing for him and for the parish.
“The parish has just been going so well, they won the hurling county final again this year, so they’re just on a crazy roller-coaster road at the moment and everyone is behind them.”
Gleeson isn’t going too badly himself. There’s a good chance he would have debuted for Ireland in November, but a shoulder injury sustained in Munster’s Croke Park defeat of Leinster ruled him out of that Test window. With Farrell due to name his Six Nations squad next week, Gleeson will be right in the conversation again as he starts to build his minutes with Munster.
The former Ireland U20 star returned to action against Ulster earlier this month, added 16 minutes off the bench in Toulon on Sunday, and is expected to get more when Castres visit Thomond Park tomorrow.
“If it is to be, I’d be very grateful,” Gleeson says of the Ireland squad.
“It is something I hope I can do one day and represent Ireland. Obviously, the time of the injury in November was poor, and I was absolutely gutted to miss out, but I just used that as motivation and tried to get back as soon as I could.
“I tried to get a few games to put my name somewhere in the line anyway, but I’ll just focus on the upcoming games rather than thinking about that.”
He now sports a sizeable scar along his left elbow, hidden by a brace on matchday which is there more as a mental security blanket than to prevent pain, with the issue now long cleared up. Building his fitness again, he’s hoping to get back to the eye-catching form which made him such a stand-out talent in his U20 days – where he was ever-present at number eight on the way to the 2023 Grand Slam.
“If anything, I’ve improved (since playing U20s). Obviously you’re playing a completely different category of player, everyone is so much better, but the kind of breaks and stuff that I had during U20s, I felt like I showed that, especially before the injury at the start of the year.
“Look, I was shown good faith at the start of the year and I got a start in the first game and I was able to show glimpses and throughout the next couple of games I was able to show glimpses again. So hopefully if I can get back in the run of things again, I can show more of that.
“You need to be hungry to get on the ball,” he adds.
“Ball-carrying would be a strength of mine, so for me to be influential and impactful in games, I know myself I need to get my hands on the ball and that gives me confidence throughout the game if I can get my hands on the ball as much as I can.
“That would definitely be something I’d think about before a game and just say ‘I need to get my hands on the ball’, and that kind of gets me into games as well.”
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Brían Gleeson Champions Cup Munster premier talent Rugby