Jamison Gibson-Park is the key cog in this British and Irish Lions squad. The nailed-on scrumhalf to face the Wallabies in next Saturday’s first Test at Suncorp, he makes the game look easy.
I first saw Jamison playing Super Rugby for the Hurricanes, 10 years ago now, and I managed to hold him off before the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa. By the following November, when we beat the All Blacks in Dublin, he was Ireland’s number nine.
The truly great players improve as they go up the levels. It’s his vision that enables players around him to shine.
Does Andy Farrell know his best Lions XV yet?
Nowadays, the upfield support line is a staple of scrumhalf play. Gibson-Park grew up in New Zealand, where lines of running without the ball are taught young, while I had to develop that skill after missing out on loads of tries because I followed the play instead of allowing experience (and video analysis) to guide me to the next breakdown.
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When Jamison has front foot possession, there is a constant threat of line breaks as he invariably makes the right decision, to either put a runner in space out wide or with a reverse pass.
Always scanning the pitch before he touches the ball, I know that Andy Farrell wants his nine to play the early pass.
Jamison can do it all, but it’s his synergy with James Lowe that brings a different dimension to the Ireland and Lions attack. It is not just Lowe. All his wingers and fullbacks can expect to be put in space when he is operating from the middle of the field.
If Joe Schmidt’s Australia are to win the Test series, they must disrupt Gibson-Park’s access to clean ruck ball.
Form really does matter on a Lions tour, but I think Farrell would have trusted his Ireland scrumhalf before the man of the match performance against the Brumbies on Tuesday.
Other Lions are still searching for that mid-summer spark. And time is running out for late arrival Owen Farrell to make the match day squad in Brisbane.
Farrell’s accuracy off the kicking tee could yet decide the entire series, but I’d start Finn Russell at 10 with Fin Smith earning the back-up slot after how he performed for England and Northampton this season.
Smith would understandably feel hard done by if his predecessor in the England 10 jersey made the Lions 23.
In saying all that, rugby people know why Andy Farrell called up Owen Farrell. It’s a cliché but Owen is a “Test animal”. He thrives under pressure, even if he has not played any international rugby since the 2023 World Cup.
Remember his drop goal against the Springboks in the semi-final? Only Dan Carter, Stephen Larkham, Jonny Wilkinson, Joel Stransky and Owen Farrell have pulled that off.
Russell’s reliable goal-kicking should keep him ahead of Farrell and Smith but come the second and third Tests, there is no better back-up than a 33-year-old on his fourth Lions tour who can play 10 or 12.
Andy Farrell’s brief is uncomplicated: pick the best XV and the most impactful reserves. It is the players he does not select who have the power to spoil or enhance a group that only gathers for seven weeks every four years.
The best example I can give is how James Haskell and Rory Best reacted when they missed out on the match day squad to play New Zealand in 2017. Two big personalities, not only did they hide their disappointment, they improved our collective morale.
One of Faz’s strengths as a coach is how he cuts through the external noise: “What is the point of a Lions call-up if you are consumed by anxiety and pressure?”
Preparation is unbelievably hard, but Australia is probably the best country in the world for a rugby tour. The group will know how to decompress.
Saturday morning’s final warm-up against an All Black-heavy invitational XV is the last chance to change the Lions coaches’ minds before Brisbane. It is instructive that Smith starts at 10, with Farrell and Marcus Smith jostling for position on the bench.
It is also a huge moment for Tadhg Beirne and Jac Morgan.
I’m fascinated to see where Farrell uses Tadhg against the Wallabies – at blindside, lock or off the bench – and who he chooses at openside. I’d pick Josh van der Flier over Morgan and Tom Curry, but retain Morgan’s expertise over opposition ball as an impact sub.
Ellis Genge appears to have the edge at loosehead prop over Andrew Porter.
Beirne and Porter would be some pair to bring into a Test match after Genge and Ollie Chessum go flat out for 60 minutes.
The catalogue of individual errors against the Super Rugby sides, mainly players overrunning lines and dropping ball, are natural growing pains on a Lions tour. Most of them should be ironed out come next weekend.
The style of play will continue to look like Ireland in red jerseys.
Of course Schmidt knows all about Farrell’s coaching methods. Joe v Faz sounds like the natural entry point to next week’s column.
Conor Murray’s Squad for first Test v Australia (if named today): Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Maro Itoje (capt); Ollie Chessum, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan. Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Andrew Porter, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jac Morgan, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Mack Hansen.
