Gleeson has point to prove

Australian exile Keith Gleeson has returned home with a point to prove. Gleeson grew up on North Sydney’s sandy coastline and tried to force his way into the same New South Wales age group sides that contained George Smith.

However, while Smith has gone on to become an established member of the Wallabies side, Gleeson found his path to international stardom blocked.

So, when the opportunity arose to play for Ireland, the country of his birth even though he left when he was a young child, he grasped it with both hands.

Within three months of making his ‘A’ team debut, Gleeson was handed a full cap in the Six Nations win over Wales. He marked the occasion with a try and has not looked back since.

Now he is back on Australian soil, a bit further north than the place he used to call home, and desperate to show the Wallaby fans just what they missed.

“When I came through NSW had its strongest side for about six years,” he said.

“You had people like George coming through and I found it really difficult.

“When the opportunity presented itself to go back to Dublin, I had no hesitation in accepting but I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t admit I want to prove I am better than the players who were chosen over me.”

It might be difficult to make a true comparison on this weekend’s events given Smith must take on the gnarled Argentina pack in Saturday’s opening game while Gleeson finds himself opposing Eastern European minnows Romania 24 hours later.

However, as the 27-year-old Dubliner points out, you can only beat the opposition put in front of you. And in any case, the last time the two sides met just over 12 months ago, Ireland did not exactly cover themselves in glory despite their 39-8 win.

“We got a rude awakening in that game,” he admitted.

“If we are honest, we saw Romania as a second-rate rugby nation and we didn’t perform to the standards we are capable of.

“Although we won comfortably in the end, we made life very difficult for ourselves and we have to do better than that tomorrow.

“Having said that, it is probably not a bad game to go into for our first match. If we had too easy a time, we wouldn’t gain very much.”

Romania have been given a boost by the return to fitness of winger Gabriel Brezoianu, who had been expected to miss the game with an ankle injury he picked up in training.

Coach Bernard Charreyre knows the presence of his top try-scorer will help pose Ireland a few problems, but even he is honest enough to admit winning is not a realistic option.

“Our main target is to show the rugby world that Romania can still play to a decent standard, that Romanian rugby is still alive,” he said.

Eddie O’Sullivan has plumped for David Humphreys at fly-half in preference to Ronan O’Gara and, having selected his strongest possible line-up clearly intends to show Romania no mercy, no matter how lop-sided the eventual outcome.

A handsome win, couple with a bonus point for four tries are the minimum requirement, although Gleeson is also hoping for a decent personal display in honour of his grandmother, who will make the trip down the coast from Newcastle to watch the back-row in action.

“It’s funny,” he said.

“When my family moved to Australia I was desperate to get rid of my Irish accent so I could fit in at school.

“Now I am back in Ireland, my accent stands out again. I guess some parts of my character will always be Australian but in rugby terms at least I am 100% Irish.”