BRIAN Gleeson of Garryowen was chosen as Mastercard Player-of-the-Match in Ireland’s brilliant 30-10 bonus point defeat of Australia in their Under-20 World Cup tie at Paarl, South Africa, on Thursday.
Aside from a fine general performance, backrow Gleeson nipped in for an important try in the early stages of the second-half, after Ireland had led narrowly (11-10) at the interval.
Gleeson’s five-pointer stands as his fifth in a relatively short career at this level on the international front. Another late Ireland try was converted by replacement Jack Oliver, also of Garryowen.
Evan O’Connell of UL Bohemian was introduced for the closing 15 minutes.
An injury worry surrounds Old Crescent’s Ruadhán Quinn, who was forced off near the end.
Ireland complete their group fixtures against Fiji at the same venue next Tuesday.
The knock-out stages will take place the weekend after next, with Richie Murphy’s side already sitting pretty for qualification.
