Baba black sheep returns to flock

KEITH GLEESON is fortunate he is available to play for Ireland against world champions Australia at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

An IRB decision four years ago, not to mention a coincidental split between the ARU and the Australian Barbarians has given Gleeson the green light to represent Eddie O’Sullivan’s side this weekend.

Gleeson was born in Ireland but grew up in Australia and played for that country at U19 and U21 levels.

Recently, a probe into whether Gleeson was eligible to play international rugby for another country other than Australia, cited the fact that he had played for the Australian Barbarians at a time when the ARU considered that team to be the second best side in the country.

Gleeson lined out for the Barbarians against Scotland in 1998 in the same side as Jason Jones-Hughes. Jones-Hughes left Australia for Wales shortly afterwards and went on to win a number of caps for the Welsh.

Australia, however, protested vigorously to the IRB about Jones-Hughes and were eventually told that, because the Scottish opposition was not of the required standard that it was not, in fact, deemed to be a secondary international fixture. That was despite the fact that Australia only won the game 39-34.

Jones-Hughes was cleared to play for Wales subsequently on the basis that a Scottish XV was not recognised as an A team.

The website probe into Gleeson found that while the under-age appearances for Australia did not count, questions remained about his eligibility on the basis that he had played for the Australian Barbarians after that fixture with Jones-Hughes in 1998.

The matter boiled down to the question of when is an international match not actually an international match?

The findings were interesting. The Australian Barbarians have been regarded as the second string side to the Wallabies but it was only during the 1997 and 1998 seasons that they were officially recognised in the eyes of the IRB. The following year, Gleeson played for the same team again this time against Fiji and the Ba Ba’s won that game 31-25.

ARU spokesman Strath Gordon explained: “We found the initial IRB ruling that the Scotland XV that played against Australia A was not deemed their first or second best side was bizarre.

“Gleeson played for the official Australia A side against Scotland in 1998 along with Jason Jones-Hughes, and after the IRB’s ruling, he became eligible to play for Ireland, where he was, in fairness, born.

“In 1997, the Australian Barbarians club “merged” with the Australian A side to become our official second string, but in 1999 that link was severed and the Barbarians became a purely invitational side. They no longer held official status as an international team.”