‘He’s just so powerful’: Pundits can’t get enough of Ireland U20 No8
Pundits Ian McKinley and Fiona Hayes have backed Ireland U20 No8 Brian Gleeson to feature for Munster next season after impressing in the current World Championship.
The 19-year-old made his first start of the tournament against Australia on Thursday after only playing 20 minutes in the draw against England, and was named player of the match in his side’s 30-10 win, topping the carry charts (20) and scoring a try in the process.
There was already a lot of hype around the loose forward going into the tournament and match, and that performance has now made fans and pundits hysterical. Speaking of his performance after the match on Virgin Media Sport, former Ireland international Fiona Hayes and former Italy international Ian McKinley could not lavish enough praise on the teenager, who will look to impress again against Fiji on Tuesday.
“Immense,” McKinley said. “You could have given it to a few people but I think for someone that had an injury a couple of weeks ago, who played 20 minutes only against England, he’s just so impressive over the ball, and the size and speed and his variation- even his hand skills here catching the ball over his head- but it’s just his power, his drive to get over the gain line every single time is just so impressive.
“Even the link up play we see here,” Hayes added. “He’s able to fit into that slot on the inside. He just goes route one and gets you over that gain line. And Quinny said in commentary, his ability to get past a tackle, keep pumping his legs, is something brilliant to have as a player. We can see a little step to the outside, very hard to bring down, and his body fight on the ground is excellent as well.
“He’s just so powerful.”
Take a look at what they said:
