Gleeson puts business before pleasure

The early stages of the World Cup will be home from home for Ireland flanker Keith Gleeson.

For the Irish team will be based for the first two weeks of the tournament less than an hour’s drive from where Gleeson spent 18 years of his life.

“I was brought up in Sydney, only about 45 minutes away from our training base,” he said. “It will be a good environment to be working in for the first two weeks.

“It will be business first and then, with a bit of luck, there will be time to get out of the camp and pop down to see friends and family and just take it easy.”

The 27-year-old Dublin-born Gleeson emigrated with his parents when he was seven and, after taking up rugby at school, harboured ambitions of becoming a Wallaby.

He went on to play for Australia’s U19 team and then skippered the U21s before finding himself unable to break into the New South Wales side and returned to Ireland two years ago.

“At the age of 21, I assumed my career was going to be in Australia,” he said. “The aim was to break into the provincial set-up and then move on to Australia but life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan it.

“After three or four years of frustration in New South Wales, I just felt I needed a change and, given my eligibility for Ireland and the fact that I was not interested at that stage in going to Europe or anywhere else just to play for money, the challenge of playing international rugby for Ireland was too good to turn down.”

Gleeson, who joined St Mary’s College, won his first cap as a replacement against Wales in the opening match of the 2002 Six Nations and has been a virtual ever-present since then.

He has played a key role in Ireland’s emergence as a world force, playing in 16 of the 24 matches under coach Eddie O’Sullivan, and forming an extremely effective back-row unit with Victor Costello and Anthony Foley.

“I’ve made a lot of good friends and got to spend a lot of time with family in Dublin and, better than that, I’ve won 16 caps for Ireland so it’s been very enjoyable,” he added.