HE IS one of their elder statesmen at this point, and Jamison Gibson-Park believes nothing beats playing rugby as he aims to remain a pivotal figure within the Leinster squad.

A debutant for the province way back in September 2016 against Benetton in the old Guinness Pro12, Gibson-Park is set to turn 34 next month. This means that, of those who are currently part of the Leinster senior set-up, only Rabah Slimani (36 since last October) is older than the international scrum-half.

However, Gibson-Park is displaying no signs of slowing down just yet, and he has made six appearances for the Blues this season to go alongside his three outings for Ireland in the November test window.

He is also expected to be the first-choice number nine in the forthcoming Six Nations Championship, and while he acknowledged there are elements of his play in recent weeks that require improvement, he is generally happy with where he is at for province and country.

“I think the most important thing is the amount of footy I’m playing. Time in the saddle is obviously number one. Training is important, obviously, but time in the saddle and you’re feeling good out there. It might be a long stretch of play, but I’m feeling pretty good through the back end of it,” Gibson-Park explained at a Leinster media briefing on Monday.

“That’s a pretty good teller as to where my fitness levels are at. I’m feeling good. I suppose it’s been a little bit up and down [his own game]. Frustrated with a few different pieces, but it gives me plenty to work on. Some big games hopefully coming around the corner, so plenty to look forward to.”

Thanks to his involvement with the British & Irish Lions on their tour of Australia last summer, Gibson-Park didn’t feature for Leinster in the current season until Munster paid a visit to Croke Park for a United Rugby Championship clash on 18 October.

Despite an excellent recent record against their arch rivals, Leo Cullen’s side came out second best in that game to leave them with three defeats in their opening four games of this season’s URC.

Since then, Leinster have gone on to register eight consecutive victories across the URC and the European Champions Cup, with Gibson-Park being the starting scrum-half for five of those encounters.

Yet they have had to dig deep in a number of those fixtures, with last Saturday’s intense showdown against La Rochelle only swinging in their favour after Harry Byrne knocked over a successful stoppage-time penalty.

While they are being forced to grind out wins more frequently than when they were on similar runs in the past, Gibson-Park doesn’t necessarily see this as a bad thing.

“I suppose when you look down the years, I can’t really think of a time where it’s been this way. Where we’ve had to grind out wins a few weeks in a row. Not to say we always had things our own way, but it’s nice to be tested is kind of the point.

“Just finding a way to win is pretty important, and we’ve been able to do that. I think it’s good for the confidence, for sure.”

Although they are already guaranteed a spot in the Champions Cup knockout rounds, Leinster are unlikely to be lacking motivation ahead of their final pool stage game against Bayonne at Stade Jean-Dauger tomorrow.

As in previous years, Leinster are aiming for the highest possible seeding moving into the business end of Europe’s top-tier with three potential home games in succession on offer if they are one of the two best-ranked teams in the competition and manage to progress that far.

Results elsewhere this weekend could determine where exactly they rank, but Gibson-Park and Leinster will be keen to do all they can this weekend on the field of play. Even though the eastern province are facing a Bayonne team that are out of contention for the Champions Cup knockouts, the 2018 winner is nevertheless anticipating a strong challenge from the Top 14 outfit.

“Yes, it’s something we’ve spoken about for sure. Coming into this block was about doing our best to get 10 points, one way or another. We’re halfway there. I don’t think any of us in this team have played in Bayonne before, besides the World Cup pre-season we played there. Against Bayonne is a different kettle of fish,” Gibson-Park added.

“I think they haven’t lost there in a couple of years in the Top 14. They’re very strong at home. They obviously don’t have much to play for in the pool, but we think they’ll be fired up for sure.”