THE EARLY MONTHS of 2020 were worrying times for Irish rugby supporters. Having crashed and burned at the 2019 World Cup just a few months previously, Ireland were struggling to get their feet out of the mud across their first Six Nations under new boss, Andy Farrell.
The attack looked worryingly blunt, the lineout was out of sorts and the scrum was creaking. Farrell had barely moved his belongings into Joe Schmidt’s office and already there were calls for his head. The Englishman stressed the need for patience.
While all this was happening, few were thinking about Jamison Gibson-Park. The scrum-half was busy trying to push Luke McGrath out of the starting team at Leinster. Gibson-Park had been Ireland qualified since the previous summer, having joined Leinster from the Hurricanes in 2016, but Schmidt had decided against picking up the phone.
Yet Farrell saw the potential in a scrum-half whose style of play was suited to the system he was hoping to implement.
The autumn of 2020 would see Gibson-Park debut in green. His first start came with cap number three that November. Of the 19 Test games he’s been involved in since, he’s started 16, establishing himself as one of the most important members of Farrell’s squad.
“He’s had a lot of faith in me,” says Gibson-Park. “That’s probably filled myself with a bit of confidence, having him stick by me, and not just him, the other coaches as well.”
Confidence has played a major part in Gibson-Park’s rise. His coach at Leinster, Stuart Lancaster, previously discussed how he felt the New Zealander arrived at the province with the mindset that “he was always the number two.”
Eventually, that mindset changed. Gibson-Park moves the conversation back to the dark, quiet days of lockdown.
“During Covid, I worked pretty hard on what I was going to come back and do. The first few games coming back and playing for Leinster, I played really well. It was probably the best I felt in my career in terms of what I could put out on the pitch. I don’t know if he [Farrell] saw that or not, but he obviously brought me in then.
[I was thinking about] just like whether I was going to give it a crack or not. It’s not that I was faffing around but I was playing second fiddle at Leinster. I did start a few games but Lukey [McGrath] was number one and that was pretty obvious. I got a chance I suppose coming back after Covid.
“I wouldn’t say [I was at] a crossroads but I think mentally I was getting a bit older, and you try and figure out what you want to do. That was a pretty important period for me.”
Would the turnaround have occurred without the reflection time offered through a global health pandemic?
“Yeah, I don’t know what would have happened. I could have stayed on that same kind of pathway. I suppose we’ll never know.”
He’s conscious that there’s been a degree of luck, too. For all Gibson-Park’s qualities, his key attribute is that his game fits the Farrell way.
“That’s the way the coach wants to go. I wouldn’t have got a look in under Joe Schmidt,” he laughs. “But yeah, that’s the way it goes. It suits my style, just happy to be here to be honest.
“It was small steps, I suppose. The first thing was to try to get the nine jumper for Leinster and that was kind of that, really, and hopefully everything would stem from there.”
Just 22 caps into his Test career, he’s already been pivotal to a series success in New Zealand and a home win against the world champion Springboks. Tonight Ireland look to keep their winning run going when they welcome the Wallabies to Aviva Stadium.
“Obviously we all saw what happened at the weekend (against Italy), but they didn’t have their strongest team out. They had a class team out against France and pushed them very close, they were unlucky not to win that game.
They’ve been strong through the Rugby Championship as well, if a little inconsistent. They’re playing some really good footy and when they get rolling they look very, very good.”
When Gibson-Park and his half-back partner, Johnny Sexton, look up tonight they’ll see the experienced duo of Nic White and Bernard Foley staring back at them.
He’s faced White before, the Australia scrum-half playing against Leinster during his time playing in this part of the world with Exeter Chiefs and Montpellier.
“He’s a class player and I think he’s the heartbeat of their team in a lot of ways,” Gibson-Park says.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in world rugby that runs as much as he does, as a nine. He loves to get the ball in his hands and maybe not go himself, but puts other people into space.
“They definitely have a pretty strong 9-10 axis.”
So do Ireland. Tonight is an opportunity to finish 2022 on a high as Farrell’s side continue to build towards next year’s World Cup in France. Dream territory for a player who could easily have missed out on international recognition.
“100%, yeah, it’s all about the World Cup. Growing up, all you want to do is get to that, and those are the dreams you have of a World Cup, to visualise yourself at a World Cup. It’s obviously a long way off at this stage, but exciting times.”
How different it all could have been.
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