Gleeson Backs Donnybrook

Keith Gleeson at Leinster’s training base of Old Belvedere RFC

Leinster may be on the move to the RDS for their Heineken Cup ties, but Keith Gleeson has backed the province’s regular home of Donnybrook to help them kick-start their Celtic League season.

The Ireland flanker, who played a full part in last Sunday’s 22-20 loss to the Ospreys in Swansea, has always had a soft spot for the Dublin 4 ground, where the Leinster Branch have recently spent 500,000 on improving their two pitches.

Ironically, Leinster’s last League opponents at Donnybrook were the Ospreys, who prized a 16-12 win away last March. Under Declan Kidney, Leinster went seven games unbeaten at Donnybrook before the Welsh region scalped them, and Gleeson is itching for the province to return to that sort of home form for the visit of Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.

“It’s important that we get our first win at home on Saturday. It’s (Donnybrook) always a big factor because it’s in Dublin and it’s our home ground,” admitted Gleeson, 29, whose League outings in recent seasons have been curtailed by injuries.

“Most of the players have played there before and it’s a great, fun stadium to play in. Certainly, we took note of the fact that we played in a brand new 20,000-seater stadium against the Ospreys last week, but Donnybrook means a lot to the players.

“The crowd is right on top of us, and it provides a great atmosphere. It’s the ideal stadium for a game like this,” he added.

“And the work that they’ve done to the pitch this year has given us a fantastic platform to work off.”

The tussle with Glasgow will be Leinster’s first competitive outing on the newly re-laid Donnybrook pitch. There will be a new open-seated stand, accommodating 1,100 spectators, at the Bective End of the ground on Saturday. The Leinster Branch expect that this will reduce the overall capacity by 100, but it should increase the take at the gate.

Leinster’s average attendance at Donnybrook last season was close to 4,500.