Jamison Gibson-Park has backed Sam Prendergast to deal with no matter comes his means if he wins Saturday’s de facto Lions trial head-to-head with Fin Smith and makes it on the aircraft to Australia this summer time.
The 22-year-old has received eight Ireland caps, beginning alongside Gibson-Park in 5 of them, and the Leinster duo will mix once more this weekend because the Investec Champions Cup bridesmaids tackle Northampton, the group they beat on the similar stage of the competitors final season, on the Aviva Stadium.
It’s Prendergast’s maturity past his tender years that has most impressed Gibson-Park because the precocious expertise made his Take a look at debut in November final yr.
“I believe it’s his mindset above all else, he has taken to the best degree very properly,” stated Gibson-Park, when requested in regards to the standout high quality of his companion for membership and nation.
“It’s been fairly outstanding for somebody of his age, it’s been actually spectacular to see, even simply the best way he’s demanding stuff out of others.
“For somebody his age, it isn’t a simple factor to do properly, however he’s taken to it rather well, and he is a superb fella to have round; he loves a little bit of banter.”
Banter might be in short supply in the other Lions half-back duel between Gibson-Park and Northampton’s Alex Mitchell.
While the odds on Prendergast’s name being included when Andy Farrell names his squad on Thursday, May 8th, are probably slightly better than 50:50, you’d think that the opposing scrum-halves are likely shoo-ins to make it to Australia.
Gibson-Park and Mitchell have competed against each other several times in the past, but the Ireland international insists the sparring will be purely rugby-related rather than verbal.
“I do enjoy the battles, for sure. We’ve had some good ones,” he said.
“I don’t know Alex personally, there wouldn’t have been much banter over the years, just footy really.
“He’s a very dangerous player, and whether it is Ireland or Leinster, they’ll be quite a big focus put on his game and how much of an influence he has when the Saints are going well.”
While Saturday’s semi-final has obvious Lions connotations, Gibson-Park insists May 8th hasn’t been underlined in his diary.
Despite the 33-year-old from Auckland being an apparent choose to be the Lions’ beginning 9 this summer time, the make-up of Farrell’s squad hasn’t been on the forefront of his thoughts.
“It’s an fascinating one, there hasn’t been an excessive amount of (Lions) chat round, it’s extra if you’re with a world group, I discover there’s numerous chat across the Six Nations and that sort of stuff.
“The group naming is coming round and it’s what it’s actually, it isn’t one thing that I’ve pencilled into the diary or something like that, it’s important to hold doing all of your work together with your province and hope issues go properly.”
Gibson-Park was a young person when the Lions toured New Zealand in 2005, and he remembers it as a “large event” with enormous ranges of assist. All that’s to stay up for, although, with a blockbuster Champions Cup fixture his solely focus this weekend.
Leinster have come up simply quick within the final three finals, agonisingly dropping to La Rochelle twice, earlier than the heartbreak of final yr’s extra-time defeat to the one European membership extra adorned than them, Toulouse.
Jacques Nienaber’s group are sturdy favourites to win towards Northampton, having not conceded some extent of their final two knockout video games towards Harlequins and Glasgow, and so they get pleasure from taking part in in entrance of a partisan crowd.
Leinster have regarded virtually unstoppable in these latest Champions Cup wins, however Gibson-Park doesn’t subscribe to the speculation that complacency is likely to be their largest enemy.
“I don’t assume it’s an excessive amount of of a problem as a result of we’ve got come unstuck the previous couple of years within the closing, so there’s clearly that aspect of it, and we’ve got additionally received some fairly unbelievable teaching workers who’ll be sure that we’re grounded, in addition to the nice gamers we’ve got. So I don’t assume we’ll be getting too carried away with ourselves,” he insisted.
“It’s a must to keep within the second. There are some unbelievable groups. Northampton, I suppose, have been just a little bit up and down within the Premiership, however they’re flying in Europe, so it’s going to be a troublesome problem.
“They almost tipped us up final yr within the semi, so I don’t assume we will get too far forward of ourselves in any respect.”
