‘Lions Connections Add To The Rivalry’ – Gibson-Park

Ireland were the bulk suppliers to the Lions squad, with 15 Irish players making the initial touring party. Finlay Bealham, who replaced the injured Zander Fagerson, and Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, who were both called up as cover, were also part of the tour.

England ended up having 15 players involved in the tour to Australia, including captain Maro Itoje, while 12 Irish and 10 English played in the Test series as Andy Farrell’s Lions team triumphed 2-1 over the Wallabies.

Gibson-Park started all three Tests Down Under and will come up against a number of his 2025 Lions team-mates this weekend, something he is relishing as Ireland aim for their first win at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham since 2022.

“I think there’s a little bit of mateship created between us, I suppose, and to me that adds to a rivalry,” said the 48-times capped scrum half, who was the player-of-the-match when Ireland beat England 27-22 last year.

“Like when I think about interpros in Ireland, they’re some of my favourite games to play because you know the lads, and I’ve spoken about it before, but it’s like a brotherly kind of rivalry.

“We played with these guys last summer and got to know them pretty well, some great fellas, so to me that adds to the challenge and to the rivalry. I love that kind of stuff, so it’s going to be hard, but I look forward to it.”

Gibson-Park knows Ireland will have to go up a couple of gears performance-wise in London, as they were outplayed at times by Italy during last week’s 20-13 victory, and England will be targeting a strong response to their Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland.

The teams are separated by two places and just two points in the current table, so a positive result for Farrell’s charges could act as a springboard heading into the final rounds of the Six Nations which will see both Wales and Scotland coming to Dublin.

Ireland’s failure during the tournament’s first fortnight to piece together a full 80-minute performance has been frustrating as training has been sharp, according to Gibson-Park.

Getting back close to their best form of recent seasons is clearly the aim as they look to put a stop to England’s nine-match winning run at Twickenham, with their most recent loss at home coming against South Africa in November 2024.

“I suppose we saw some good stuff in patches (against Italy), didn’t we? So probably the biggest work-on is trying to deliver it more consistently,” admitted the Leinster half-back, who was a second-half replacement against the Azzurri.

“But yeah, we got the result in the end which was pretty big, and the Italy side have definitely come a long way in the last few years. It’s a big challenge now and it’s good for the competition.

“Happy to get a win and to roll on. But there’s plenty of improvements to be had, and when, I suppose, you put yourself in England’s shoes and they’re off the back of a pretty tough loss, they’re going to be fired up which makes our job much tougher.

“I think the frustrating thing, to a point, is that we’ve put together some really good training sessions, but we haven’t been able to deliver it out there on the weekend.

“So, our biggest work-on as a team really is delivering on the weekend. But we certainly know we’re capable of it. It’s a pretty big work-on to deliver at the weekend which is ultimately the 80 minutes we’re judged by.”

Craig Casey was selected for his third Six Nations start – his previous two were also against Italy in 2023 and 2024 – and head coach Farrell spoke before the match about the Limerick man, who captained Ireland for last summer’s tour, being ‘desperate for more time and more opportunities in big games’.

Casey stated earlier in the season that he does not want to be ‘second choice’ for Ireland and feels that he has ‘pushed a lot over the last year, but I’ve a lot of respect for Jamo’. The feeling is clearly mutual, with Gibson-Park responding in kind to the stiff competition for the number 9 jersey.

The 33-year-old replaced Casey in the 52nd minute, coming on at the time when the sides were locked level at 10-all. He combined with fellow replacement Jack Crowley to help get the Irish attack firing for their third try, scored by Six Nations debutant and player-of-the-match Robert Baloucoune.

“Yeah, it probably does,” Gibson-Park replied, when asked if Casey getting the start lit a fire under him. “You know, I’m a competitive guy and so these kinds of things happen and I go and try to find a bit of feedback and then go out and train and compete.

It’s always been my mindset and I think it will remain the same until I’m done. I suppose I was happy (with my game). As a bench, we spoke about trying to bring a bit of energy to the game and I think for the most part we did that.

“Certainly areas we can still be better at, but that was kind of the main thing we wanted to add when coming on –  lifting the boys and giving a bit of energy – and it felt as though we did that for the most part.”

The England selection for Saturday afternoon’s clash at Allianz Stadium (kick-off 2.10pm) contains nine of their 2025 Lions contingent in the starting XV, and one more on the bench in the form of Marcus Smith.

If selected to start, Gibson-Park will have Alex Mitchell as a familiar opposing scrum half. It was one-all between the pair last year with Ireland winning the Six Nations opener before Mitchell’s Northampton Saints side overcame Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup’s last-four.

Henry Pollock will make his first start for England, packing down at number 8. The 21-year-old has never played Ireland at Test level before, but made his mark against Leinster last May with a terrific individual try that put Northampton on their way to reach the Champions Cup final.

Giving his thoughts on Mitchell, Gibson-Park noted: “He’s a great player, isn’t he? He adds a lot to the game, I feel. I think his biggest strength is his running game and getting on the ball.

“He certainly possesses a good few weapons with that side of his game, but you know he’s pretty consistent with his box-kicking as well. He’s a pretty all-round kind of player, and one I love to come up against.”

On highly-rated youngster Pollock, he added: “He’s unreal man, an unbelievable athlete, moves unbelievably well, seriously quick, great with the ball in hand.

“Yeah, he’s a serious one to try and take away his strengths. He is exactly how you see online, so you guys probably know him as well as I do.

“But no, he’s a great young fella, full of energy, and we’ll be looking forward to getting out there against them.”

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