BULLS’ MOTION
Gibson-Park so wary of visitors’ firepower as Blues eye glory
By DAIRE WALSH
JAMISON GIBSON-park is looking to make it third time lucky against
Having endured his share of frustration against them in the recent past, it comes as little surprise to hear that Leinster’s Jamison Gibson-Park is expecting a titanic battle from the Vodacom Bulls in today’s United Rugby Championship final at Croke Park.
‘Whiskey’ was at No 9 when the Blues lost to the South Africans in the URC last four in 2022 at the RDS.
He was again in the side when Leo Cullen’s men fell at the penultimate hurdle last year at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
But the Ireland international is hoping for better fortune when Leinster face the Bulls in the grand decider at GAA HQ this evening.
Partnering Sam Prendergast in the half-back department this time – Ross Byrne started in 2022 and 2024 – JGP is anticipating a robust physical challenge from Jake White’s southern hemisphere side.
Yet with Johan Goosen – who returns from a knee injury – and Willie Le Roux among their starting backs, the No 9 sees the Bulls as ‘a pretty complete package’.
Gibson-Park said: “The physicality side of it, they fronted up hugely in a couple of big semi-finals against us… big set piece, that kind of thing.
“As well as that, they’ve got a lot of firepower. They have some pretty dynamic backs.
“Obviously they’ve got Goosen back, he is a strong kicker of the ball. Willie Le Roux is a strong kicker of the ball, as well as some pretty physical midfielders.
“So they are a pretty complete package when you look at them like that. Willie Le Roux caused us a few problems over there last year in the semi.
“So hopefully take a few lessons from that and obviously they beat us here in 2022.
“They travelled and beat us, so I’d say they’d be full of confidence.”
When Leinster last lifted silverware – after a Guinness Pro14 final against Munster in an empty RDS on March 27, 2021 due to the pandemic – Gibson-Park made a late appearance as a 75th minute replacement for Luke McGrath.
Since then, the Blues have suffered consistent heartbreak in the latter stages of the Champions Cup and the URC. However, after three consecutive semi-final defeats in the latter competition, Leinster finally recorded a semi-final victory last weekend, seeing off URC holders Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium.
Following the devastating defeat by Northampton Saints on May 3, Leo Cullen’s men were impressive in their 37-19 success over Glasgow, who bagged a couple of late tries to add a bit of gloss to the scoreboard.
And while Gibson-Park admitted there may have been a hangover from the Northampton game, he felt they were back to something approaching their best in the URC semi-final.
The 33-year-old said: “It’s one of those things it’s pretty hard to get a sense of because it feels as though they’re pretty well on it, but a lot of those things can linger. It’s happened to us in the past. I think we can take a huge sense of pride out of the weekend really that we are able to put that performance out there and give us a bit of confidence coming into this weekend.
“There were a few errors that we’ve looked at, but I think for the most part it was pretty good.
“Obviously, there was a bit of rain that came down at certain stages so we had to change a few things around, but they were pretty happy overall with how we came out of it.”
All Black Jordie Barrett and Gloucester-bound Ross Byrne will line out for Leinster for the final time today and although it will also represent JGP’s last club appearance of the season, he will be playing plenty of rugby this summer.
Along with 11 of his Leinster colleagues, the former Hurricanes star was named in the Lions squad last month for next month’s tour of Australia.
That was the latest chapter in an eventful journey for a man who moved to Ireland a year before the Lions toured his native New Zealand in 2017.
His focus is first set on helping Leinster to win the URC title, but Gibson-Park acknowledged that being named in Andy Farrell’s squad was a massive personal honour.
He added: “It was a hugely proud moment for my family and me.
“It has been a huge journey – ups and downs and roundabouts and all sorts of things, but it is a pretty cool thing to see.
“It is tough to ignore the Lions, but for the week that is in it, it is a pretty easy thing to park and just make sure we are zoned in here.”