Keith Gleeson
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Keith Gleeson (born 21 June 1976) is a retired
Irish Australian Irish Australians () are ‌‍‍‍‍residents of Australia who are either fully or partially of Irish people, Irish descent. Irish immigrants and their descendants have had a prominent presence in Australian society since the First Fle ...
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
football player.


Early life

Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, before moving to Australia with his family as a child. Raised in Sydney, Australia, Gleeson attended Catholic Jesuit school St Aloysius' College representing the schools 1st XV rugby union team over 2 years and as captain in the latter and playing for the CAS 1st XV and the New South Wales 2nd XV. He went on to represent
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at u/19 and u/21 (Captain).


Professional rugby career

Gleeson has enjoyed a distinct career, representing
Northern Suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney's north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sy ...
in the Sydney competition, the
NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play ...
in the Super 12,
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
in Ireland and finally most notably
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. His preferred position is as an openside flanker. Perhaps the highlight of his career was representing Ireland in the
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...
. He stands 1.86 m and his playing weight is 98 kg. On numerous occasions
George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, b ...
has stated that Gleeson should start for Ireland as he feels he is their best openside flanker. Gleeson retired from professional rugby at the end of the 07/08 season with a Magners League winners medal.


References


External links


Leinster profileERC profileSporting Heroes profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Keith 1976 births Living people Rugby union flankers Australian rugby union players Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Leinster Rugby players St Mary's College RFC players Irish emigrants to Australia People educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney) Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Rugby union players from Sydney New South Wales Waratahs players 2003 Rugby World Cup players Northern Suburbs Rugby Club players