THIS WEEK IN Auckland is more exciting for Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Sean Jansen and Andrew Goodman because so many of their families can come and watch Ireland play.
Most of them have welcomed loved ones over to Ireland for games, while Gibson-Park and Aki have previously worn the green jersey on Kiwi soil, but it’s a thrill to be back on familiar ground.
After the Ireland scrum-half took his seat at yesterday’s press conference at the Ireland team hotel in downtown Auckland, a member of the New Zealand media asked Gibson-Park if it was right to welcome him ‘home.’
“It’s a bit of a strange one,” said Gibson-Park.
“I suppose all my family is out on Great Barrier Island, so there’s a bit of a sense of home out there for sure. But I suppose on the other hand, I’ve been in Ireland for 10 years, pretty well settled with children being born over there and everything.
“So there’s definitely a sense of home in both places for sure.”
Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman was in the same seat a short while later and said it’s good to be back in New Zealand.
He is excited to see some of his family in the flesh.
“My mum and sister and nephew are all coming up tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to seeing some family and loved ones that I haven’t seen for a while,” said Goodman, who is enjoying the cafés in Auckland.
“New Zealand flat whites are amazing; I’m sure you’ve been enjoying a few of those. I’ve been tucking into a few of those and just a few of the things I’ve missed while being over in Ireland.
“I haven’t had any pies yet, but I’m looking forward to my first one. But there’s always been a healthy debate around the boys coming over to this side of the world – who does the best flat white, Australia or New Zealand?
“I’ve been strongly pushing for New Zealand, and I think these first couple of days the boys have been confirmed.”
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Josh van der Flier and Andrew Goodman at Ireland training. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Pies are a particularly Kiwi pleasure.
“I don’t mind a wild venison if I can get a little boutique like that,” said Goodman, “but steak and cheese obviously would be the go-to.”
Goodman is a native of Nelson on the South Island, but a couple of seasons as a player with Leinster from 2012 and 2014 were transformative, eventually leading to his return as a coach.
Joe Schmidt brought him over and he played in the 2013 Pro12 final victory over Ulster. Goodman loved the experience but moved back to New Zealand and started coaching with Nelson College.
As it happens, among the players he worked with at the school was Germany native Anton Segner, who made his All Blacks debut in the back row against Italy last weekend.
“I still remember when they said there was a young lad from Germany turning up to play rugby at the school, and we thought he might be a Third XV, or Second XV player, but he came in his first year as a 15- or 16-year-old, and he was in the First XV for three years and captained the team.
“Amazing player and a great story. I was stoked to see him get his debut last week. It was a really cool story. You could see it from a pretty early stage that he had something about him in terms of his work ethic, in terms of the way he just wanted to get better and learn. He attacked it from the start.”
Goodman went from Nelson to Tasman to the Crusaders, then took on the Leinster attack coach role in 2022. Andy Farrell brought him into the Ireland fold two years later.
And now, there’s a second Goodman in Irish rugby. Andrew’s brother, Chris, recently joined the IRFU as the union’s new head of performance pathways, succeeding Peter Smyth, who has re-joined Leinster.
“Is he like me? Yeah, I think he is a bit like me,” said Andrew.
“I think he’ll be great. I’ve worked together with him before when we were both at Tasman, and he had a long stint down with the Crusaders as well, which I think when you look at world rugby, they’re one of the leading organisations, and they’ve always had a really successful academy programme where they’ve grown and developed young players into leading world-class players.
“So I think he’s got some great experiences from what he will have learnt there that can hopefully transfer over into the Irish system. He’s hardworking, he’ll get around, he’s a good rugby man, he knows the game, so he’ll connect that with people and hopefully come in with some fresh ideas.”
Andrew Goodman with Jamison Gibson-Park. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Gibson-Park arrived in Ireland in 2016 and gradually transformed as a player into the top-class operator he is today.
A few tough experiences in New Zealand, like being released by the Blues in 2016, spurred him on. It was actually new All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga who made that decision at the Blues. It proved to be a motivator for Gibson-Park.
“I think it definitely did,” said Gibson-Park. “Not that I had a point to prove, but there’s definitely a sense of… It happened to me a few times early in my career.
“It started with the New Zealand U20s [when he missed out on selection] and then that kind of hit at the Blues, and I was second string at the Hurricanes.
“When the opportunity came up to go to Leinster, it just made sense at the time. But yeah, I think it definitely did spur me on a little bit.”
The Blues underachieved during Gibson-Park’s time in Auckland. They had “a pretty wicked team on paper,” but it didn’t translate into results. Still, he had a happy three years living in the city and made some friends for life. He also has family in the area, so he loved being close to them.
And now they’re all looking for tickets to Saturday’s sold-out game at Eden Park.
“It’s cool to be back,” said Gibson-Park. “I haven’t been here since 2022, the last time we were here. It’s always cool to be back in the mix.
“There’s people coming out of the woodwork looking for tickets and all that kind of thing.”
With his knowledge of Auckland, what’s Gibson-Park’s top tip for his team-mates on Ireland’s day off on Thursday?
“We’ll see what the weather’s like, but depending on how far you’re willing to travel, I think Waiheke Island would be a good option.
“If the weather’s all right, we’ll see. I won’t be going out there, but it’s a good shout.”
Gibson-Park has shown that a bit of adventure can lead to great things.
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Flat whites, pies and family - Ireland's Kiwi crew back on home soil
THIS WEEK IN Auckland is more exciting for Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Sean Jansen and Andrew Goodman because so many of their families can come and watch Ireland play.
Most of them have welcomed loved ones over to Ireland for games, while Gibson-Park and Aki have previously worn the green jersey on Kiwi soil, but it’s a thrill to be back on familiar ground.
After the Ireland scrum-half took his seat at yesterday’s press conference at the Ireland team hotel in downtown Auckland, a member of the New Zealand media asked Gibson-Park if it was right to welcome him ‘home.’
“It’s a bit of a strange one,” said Gibson-Park.
“I suppose all my family is out on Great Barrier Island, so there’s a bit of a sense of home out there for sure. But I suppose on the other hand, I’ve been in Ireland for 10 years, pretty well settled with children being born over there and everything.
“So there’s definitely a sense of home in both places for sure.”
Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman was in the same seat a short while later and said it’s good to be back in New Zealand.
He is excited to see some of his family in the flesh.
“My mum and sister and nephew are all coming up tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to seeing some family and loved ones that I haven’t seen for a while,” said Goodman, who is enjoying the cafés in Auckland.
“New Zealand flat whites are amazing; I’m sure you’ve been enjoying a few of those. I’ve been tucking into a few of those and just a few of the things I’ve missed while being over in Ireland.
“I haven’t had any pies yet, but I’m looking forward to my first one. But there’s always been a healthy debate around the boys coming over to this side of the world – who does the best flat white, Australia or New Zealand?
“I’ve been strongly pushing for New Zealand, and I think these first couple of days the boys have been confirmed.”
Pies are a particularly Kiwi pleasure.
“I don’t mind a wild venison if I can get a little boutique like that,” said Goodman, “but steak and cheese obviously would be the go-to.”
Goodman is a native of Nelson on the South Island, but a couple of seasons as a player with Leinster from 2012 and 2014 were transformative, eventually leading to his return as a coach.
Joe Schmidt brought him over and he played in the 2013 Pro12 final victory over Ulster. Goodman loved the experience but moved back to New Zealand and started coaching with Nelson College.
As it happens, among the players he worked with at the school was Germany native Anton Segner, who made his All Blacks debut in the back row against Italy last weekend.
“I still remember when they said there was a young lad from Germany turning up to play rugby at the school, and we thought he might be a Third XV, or Second XV player, but he came in his first year as a 15- or 16-year-old, and he was in the First XV for three years and captained the team.
“Amazing player and a great story. I was stoked to see him get his debut last week. It was a really cool story. You could see it from a pretty early stage that he had something about him in terms of his work ethic, in terms of the way he just wanted to get better and learn. He attacked it from the start.”
Goodman went from Nelson to Tasman to the Crusaders, then took on the Leinster attack coach role in 2022. Andy Farrell brought him into the Ireland fold two years later.
And now, there’s a second Goodman in Irish rugby. Andrew’s brother, Chris, recently joined the IRFU as the union’s new head of performance pathways, succeeding Peter Smyth, who has re-joined Leinster.
“Is he like me? Yeah, I think he is a bit like me,” said Andrew.
“I think he’ll be great. I’ve worked together with him before when we were both at Tasman, and he had a long stint down with the Crusaders as well, which I think when you look at world rugby, they’re one of the leading organisations, and they’ve always had a really successful academy programme where they’ve grown and developed young players into leading world-class players.
“So I think he’s got some great experiences from what he will have learnt there that can hopefully transfer over into the Irish system. He’s hardworking, he’ll get around, he’s a good rugby man, he knows the game, so he’ll connect that with people and hopefully come in with some fresh ideas.”
Gibson-Park arrived in Ireland in 2016 and gradually transformed as a player into the top-class operator he is today.
A few tough experiences in New Zealand, like being released by the Blues in 2016, spurred him on. It was actually new All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga who made that decision at the Blues. It proved to be a motivator for Gibson-Park.
“I think it definitely did,” said Gibson-Park. “Not that I had a point to prove, but there’s definitely a sense of… It happened to me a few times early in my career.
“It started with the New Zealand U20s [when he missed out on selection] and then that kind of hit at the Blues, and I was second string at the Hurricanes.
“When the opportunity came up to go to Leinster, it just made sense at the time. But yeah, I think it definitely did spur me on a little bit.”
The Blues underachieved during Gibson-Park’s time in Auckland. They had “a pretty wicked team on paper,” but it didn’t translate into results. Still, he had a happy three years living in the city and made some friends for life. He also has family in the area, so he loved being close to them.
And now they’re all looking for tickets to Saturday’s sold-out game at Eden Park.
“It’s cool to be back,” said Gibson-Park. “I haven’t been here since 2022, the last time we were here. It’s always cool to be back in the mix.
“There’s people coming out of the woodwork looking for tickets and all that kind of thing.”
With his knowledge of Auckland, what’s Gibson-Park’s top tip for his team-mates on Ireland’s day off on Thursday?
“We’ll see what the weather’s like, but depending on how far you’re willing to travel, I think Waiheke Island would be a good option.
“If the weather’s all right, we’ll see. I won’t be going out there, but it’s a good shout.”
Gibson-Park has shown that a bit of adventure can lead to great things.
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Auckland good man home comforts Ireland Kiwis Nations Championship New Zealand