WITHIN MINUTES OF helping the Ireland U20s to a second consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam success, man-of-the-match Brian Gleeson was already looking to the next target.

“We said at the start of this, obviously the Grand Slam is what we wanted to do but we still have the World Cup coming and we’re going to look towards that now and that’s where we want to get to – World Cup champions.” 

Gleeson said it all with a smile on his face, but the intent was clear. This team’s cabinet is already packed with goods but there’s still room to squeeze in more silverware. The U20 World Cup begins this June in South Africa and Richie Murphy’s side will go there bolstered by this historic achievement.

Gleeson’s foraging in the pack was a major factor in their victory over England on Sunday, and his two tries in either half were crucial. The first was the final product of a maul that thundered over at the corner, while his second was the result of composed phase play which ended with Gleeson dotting down for the bonus point. Both efforts underpinned the power of this Irish team in both the forwards and the backs.

“We’re growing with every game as well. We can all play but when we have Fintan [Gunne] and Sam [Prendergast] leading us around it makes our jobs easier and we saw the backs there, the way they were able to fling the ball and score tries.

“Every single game we’re improving. We’re getting more used to playing together in our systems and we’re not done yet.”

The great news for Ireland is that Gleeson is underage again next year when talk of three-in-a-row will surely start to crop up. He’s part of a group of seven players who can all tog out for the U20s again in 2024. A native of Loughmore in Tipperary, Gleeson comes from a GAA background. He has played both hurling and football for his county in the underage ranks. Gaelic Games could certainly have been his path.

But it was while he was a student at Rockwell College that Gleeson first envisaged a future in rugby. He’s already taking steps towards integrating into the Munster seniors, and the impressive number eight has the ability to go even further in his career.

“Rugby was the main sport there and when I started there I never looked back. I played rugby with Thurles Rugby Club when I was younger as well, I’m from Loughmore.

“Seeing so many people here from Loughmore, coming down supporting me means they’re all behind me and it means so much. It’s great to see.”

On his prospects with Munster, Gleeson adds:

“I’ve trained a good bit with them recently and even training with them makes you get better and calmer. And when we trained with the Irish seniors you’re more used to being with them and the pace of the game.

“Hopefully I can put my name out there and get training more with them. But the back rowers in Munster at the moment are going very well so if I can get any bit of game time, I’ll be happy.”

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