Brian Gleeson is on the cusp of World Cup glory this Friday evening

Mid Tipperary native Brian Gleeson is gaining rave reviews worldwide for his fantastic performances for Ireland at the Under 20 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

Last Saturday the former Rahealty National School and Rockwell College rugby star scored another try for Ireland in a five star performance against South Africa.

Ireland showed real character to win the semi final game 31-12 in Cape Town despite some serious pressure from the home side. Tries from Brian Gleeson, Sam Berman and James Nicholson, who scored two tries, means Ireland now march on to the world cup final.

It sets up a mouthwatering clash against France this Friday in what is sure to be an absorbing encounter. The game is set to kick off at 6pm Irish time in the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town. Irish viewers can watch the final on Virgin Media 2 and also on World Rugby’s YouTube channel online.

Head coach for the team Richie Murphy has praised Brian and his teammates this week for how they focused on the task at hand and how they prepared across the tournament.

It is a fantastic time for Brian who was part of Ireland’s Grand Slam winning Under 20 team earlier this year and then, in recent weeks, he signed a new Academy contract with Munster.

Still young enough for this grade with Ireland next year, he is the star player at this tournament. The Tipperary powerhouse is now on the verge of bringing a world cup medal back to his native sod.

Ireland never before won a world cup at this level, and this year’s final will be the first time the country has made the decider since 2016.

A large number of that team went on to earn full international caps. The opponents for Ireland in the final is a fast moving and talented French side that defeated England 52-31 in their semi final showdown.

There will be great excitement in Tipperary and beyond when Brian Gleeson and his teammates take the field on Friday evening. A native of GAA stronghold Loughmore, young Brian Gleeson represented his county at U14 and U15 level in hurling and was a very promising player, expected by many to make the step up to senior level in time before he chose rugby as a career.

Brian first played with Thurles RFC as a child and also played for his primary school Rahealty NS. During this time he continued with Gaelic games as well and began to show real skill and application in his early teens but, at the same time, he continued his development in rugby at Rockwell College where he went to secondary school.

There, on the college fields, he continued learning under the eyes of former Irish international and current Munster rugby coach Denis Leamy. Playing with his school he won the prestigious Junior Cup and was instantly propelled into the rugby big time.
The Irish number 8 has gone from strength to strength this year in particular as the 19-year-old put in two player of the match performances in the Six Nations and also scored a pair of tries in a big win over England in the decider. All facets of his game are strong, be it making ground at the gain-line, tackling, making turnovers and, of course, scoring tries.

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree will surely be closely tuned into the final to see if the latest batch of Irish young guns can win the World Cup and he will pay close attention to the Munster Academy player Brian Gleeson too.

It is exciting times for rugby fans from the county and it is also clear that Tipperary athletes are performing magnificently week in and week out at their chosen sport.

The recent performances of hammer throwers and athletes at international events, not to mention the fantastic performances of the Tipperary senior camogie team in reaching the All-Ireland semi final, is proof that Tipperary athletes are amongst the best in Ireland.

We will all look forward to seeing how Brian and his teammates get on this Friday evening. No matter how it goes, they have done us proud.