Munster hopeful Brian Gleeson will 'be in the mix' for Ulster meeting

The former Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winner has been sidelined since the league win over Leinster at Croke Park on October 18, when his start at No.8 was cut short by an elbow fracture which required surgery.

Tue, 30 Dec, 2025 - 01:00

Simon Lewis

Munster could have back rower Brian Gleeson back in the selection mix for Friday’s URC derby at Ulster after the powerhouse forward returned to full training on Monday.

The injury forced the 21-year-old to withdraw from a trip to Chicago to train with the Ireland squad preparing for November’s Autumn Nations Series and he has not played since but there was a positive update on the Tipperary player from Munster assistant coach Denis Leamy.

“Yes, Gleeson trained today and we're hoping that he'll be in the mix,” Leamy said. “Brian is somebody that's back into the equation and we'll just see how he's tracking over the next couple of days and make a decision on that then.

Second row Edogbo, who turned 23 on December 21, had also been invited by Andy Farrell to train with Ireland ahead of the New Zealand clash at Soldier Field but was concussed at Croke Park and forced to withdraw.

It was just the former Cobh Pirate’s second game since returning from his second serious Achilles' tendon injury, but Edogbo has played in the last five games for Munster, and Leamy shared his young players’ angst at times on the sidelines.

“It's frustrating when young players get injured because they have these windows of opportunity to play and to progress and to reach their full potential.

“So when guys like Brian and Edwin Edogbo, for example, have been out for a long time, it just robs them of time to develop and hit their ceiling. So as young players, you want them to be fit as much as possible and just to absorb all the information they're getting, absorb the game time and really fast-track them to get to where their potential may lie.

“Unfortunately, when guys get injured, that just slows down that progress.”

Munster do have a concern over Ireland wing Calvin Nash, who was a late pull-out from last Saturday’s URC derby loss at home to Leinster due to illness and is yet to return to training.

“Calvin, we're still not sure about him,” the defence coach said. “He wasn't around today. So we'll just keep an eye on how that one's progressing.”

Leamy also strongly hinted that Munster would be without some of their Ireland internationals for the trip to Belfast with captain Tadhg Beirne and scrum-half Craig Casey seemingly first in line for being stood down under IRFU player welfare protocols.

“Certainly the Irish internationals, they need to get their time off at some stage and this week could be a possibility to fit that in.

“It's always the toughest part of the year. You've got the interpros and then you've got Europe either side. It always puts your squad under pressure and always pressures you in terms of results.

“So the last couple of years' learnings that we've had is that this is a real tough part of the season. It's a real slog and you have to just go from week to week and dog it out.”

A derby in Ravenhill with a six-day turnaround from their 13-8 home defeat by Leinster suggests there will be no let-up for Munster.

Having failed to qualify for the play-offs last season and missing out on Champions Cup rugby, Ulster look rejuvenated now with a rejigged coaching ticket under Richie Murphy.

A 29-24 derby victory over Connacht in Galway last Saturday means they trail second-placed Munster by three points in the table.

“Ulster are flying it,” Leamy said. “I think they're showing a lot of quality there. Richie Murphy has done a really, really good job over the last while and they've got very good coaches in Jimmy Duffy and Mark Sexton and people like that, Willie Faloon, so they're really well put together and I saw them against Connacht the other night.

“Some of their attack is really lethal and loads of quality young Irish players, guys that are going to be there in thereabouts within Irish squads. I think it's a really good challenge for us.

“I think defensively, Ulster are one of the top sides in terms of their attack, so defensively they're going to put us under a lot of pressure. So that's something to get excited about and to get focused about.”