Brian Gleeson buzzing again as Munster forward targets full shift against Castres

Munster back-row Brian Gleeson. Pic: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho

Brian Gleeson is buzzing, and with good reason. 

Two matches off the bench into his comeback from an 11-week injury absence, the Munster back rower feels fit and ready to put his body on the line once more for an 80-minute shift against Castres at Thomond Park this Saturday.

Whether he gets his wish will become known on Friday lunchtime when Clayton McMillan unveils his line-up for the must-win Champions Cup qualifying finale on home soil as Munster bid to make the knockout stages, with a home Round of 16 tie still a possibility in an extremely tight Pool 2. 

Yet for now, the 21-year-old power forward is satisfied he has enough minutes under his belt after 70 minutes against Ulster in the URC and a quarter-hour walk-on role last Sunday at Toulon to go the full distance in pursuit of his province’s objectives.

A strong showing for Gleeson against Castres could also help the Tipperary man reach a personal goal, with Andy Farrell set to name his Ireland squad for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations campaign next Wednesday. 

He remains philosophical on the matter, however, having been denied the opportunity of a call-up for a week’s training in camp in Chicago last November, due to the fractured elbow he sustained against Leinster in mid-October.

At the moment, there is still the satisfaction of being back on the field of play.

“It's tough enough being out because you're just doing a lot in the gym and then when you're coming back on the pitch, you're by yourself on the side,” Gleeson said.

“So being integrated back in the group is great. You know, you get the buzz from playing again.

“It probably takes every player maybe a game or two to get back into the swing of things. I'd say probably coming on after 10 minutes (for an injured John Hodnett) for the first game back in Ulster was definitely a good way of getting back into the swing of things.

“I wasn't expecting maybe the length of time I got. But the fact that I got that many minutes so early after coming back was definitely great.

“I'd be confident (of going 80). I put in 70 minutes there, so that was two weeks ago. I have two more weeks’ training. I've got another 15 off the bench against Toulon. So yeah, I'd be confident I could go in 80 minutes if that was asked of me.” 

Of the potential for Ireland selection and a pre-championship training camp in Portugal at the end of the month before the Six Nations opener against France in Paris on February 5, Gleeson knows he must be there or thereabouts having been asked to train with the squad in the autumn.

“Yeah, obviously, if it is to go, if it is to be, I'd be very grateful. It is something I hope I can do one day and represent Ireland. Obviously, the time of the injury in November was poor, and I was absolutely gutted to miss out, but yeah, I just kind of used that as motivation and tried to get back as soon as I could.

“I tried to get a few games to put my name somewhere in the line anyway, but I'll just focus on the upcoming games rather than thinking about that.” 

Gleeson credits his “very tight family group” including parents Pat and Fionnuala, and girlfriend Renee for helping him process the disappointment of missing out on his initial Ireland call-up but he is determined not to compromise on his physicality to mitigate the risk of further injury.

“Maybe that's the way I play, is that I probably don't take any mercy on my body, but I think it's probably a strong point of mine. I like to use my size and have no mercy and just go for it.

“I think if I was to be more reserved in that, I wouldn't be the same player. Look, I'm young and I've had maybe two or three injuries now, but that's not stopping my confidence at all. Hopefully, I can go the rest of the season injury-free and have a good run.” 

Aside from family support, Gleeson also felt the love from Father Christmas over the festive season, with the big man leaving him a hurley under the tree. 

For a former Tipperary underage hurler and Loughmore-Castleiney clubman, that made for the perfect gift.

“It was under the tree, so Santa left it for me,” he said. “I probably haven't played a game for Jeez, four years nearly, so quite a long time.

“I went out on Christmas Day hitting the ball up against the wall and the touch was fairly off, so it was definitely a long time ago.

“It's a sport I grew up playing and have a lot of time for, and with football as well.

“I suppose watching Tipperary go on and win the All-Ireland there this year and you know, having played with some of the players up along, it makes you not jealous, but excited that you know people on the team and it gets the buzz around the county going. 

“But I'd say most of the lads would be saying the same about me going out and playing in Croke Park or in the south of France or wherever. So yeah, I wouldn't trade rugby for the world.”