Gleeson pledges to give Smith a run for his money

KEITH GLEESON’S rugby career took an ironic twist when he opted to leave Australia and throw his lot in with Leinster.

Gleeson, a highly rated U-21 flanker with Australia, had spent endless hours arguing with Matt Williams, stating that he should be getting more time on the pitch for New South Wales in a bid to impress the Australian selectors. Then it was Williams who persuaded him to give up his quest for an Australian cap and come to Ireland to play with Leinster. “There were times when Matt and I didn't see eye to eye. I was frustrated at not getting enough games with New South Wales and that didn’t help my desire to play for Australia.

“Having said that, Matt was really only following the national line. At that time a few years ago it was felt that big back-rowers was the way forward. “I didn’t fit into the equation because I was not in the same physical league as most of the top players with the Australian provinces. George Smith was probably the smallest back row forward to come through the system for some time but that was after I made the decision to move back to Ireland.”

Though born in this country, Gleeson speaks with an Australian accent and is, in many respects, Australian to the core. The main thing on Gleeson’s mind will be to help Ireland to victory. “That’s what it is all about.” But there may also be an element of attempting to stitch the Australian rugby authorities up. Of course, I was disappointed at the way things went over there. I’m from an Irish family and I would never have forgotten my roots.

“But having captained Australia at under-21 level the natural desire was to go on to play for Australia.

“When things didn’t happen for me, I took the advice of my family and decided to throw in my lot with Ireland. It was a risk but it has paid off.” He conceded: “Matt Williams and I had a long talk about my future. I was impressed with the Leinster set-up and the Irish situation as well. It was very similar to home, a provincial structure aimed at producing the best national team possible. “You don’t get places by performances in Australian or Irish rugby without first moving up a rung to representative stuff.” Tomorrow at Lansdowne Road, Gleeson gets a unique opportunity to prove a his point. It’s head-to-head with George Smith, the guy who finally persuaded the Wallabies that small guys can do the job.