2 days ago
Keenan and Gibson-Park get chance to remind everyone of their class
OWEN FARRELL WAS recently asked to pick out the best current rugby player and having lauded the individual genius of Antoine Dupont and Ardie Savea, he said he really loves players who 'make teams tick.'
Players like Jamison Gibson-Park.
'I love watching the way he brings everybody into the game, and constantly making good decisions is what I'm drawn to,' said Farrell on The Big Jim Show.
'I appreciate massively the individual brilliance, but I've got a massive appreciation for people who make everybody else look good.'
So does Andy Farrell. The Lions boss truly appreciates the value of Gibson-Park, who will make his Lions debut against the Reds on Wednesday. It would be an exaggeration to say that Farrell unearthed Gibson-Park but he seemed to see a higher potential in him than nearly everyone else.
Even if the framing of Farrell's decision to pick Gibson-Park for Ireland when he wasn't first-choice in Leinster somewhat diminishes the credit the scrum-half himself deserves for his improvement, there's no doubt that they have built a brilliant working relationship. Farrell backed Gibson-Park, and Gibson-Park helped Farrell's team to take off.
Now, they're hoping to kick it on to another level with the Lions. Farrell has been patient in making sure Gibson-Park is ready to go. His glute injury was managed carefully because the scrum-half looks like being a key figure in the Test series against Australia.
As the unfortunate Tomos Williams' tour ends due to injury, Gibson-Park is ready to belatedly kick his off. Ben White has joined the Lions squad in Williams' place and Alex Mitchell is a fine player, but Gibson-Park is the clear front-runner for the number nine shirt in the Tests.
Gibson-Park is the clear frontrunner at nine. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Indeed, his halfback pairing with Finn Russell on Wednesday has the bang of a Test combination about it, all the more so given that this will be Russell's second start at out-half in five days. Gibson-Park and Russell have never played together, so they need to get rolling. Wednesday could be one of just two matches as a pairing ahead of the first Test if they're Farrell's preferred duo.
Russell looked comfortable steering the ship against the Force in Perth on Saturday, impressing with his decision-making, kicking, and tackling.
Now, it's Gibson-Park's chance to show that he's top dog. His ability to pick out a wide variety of passes is one of his superpowers. The Irish scrum-half has been a leader in terms of firing flat, fizzing passes across the face of defenders into blind spots on their outside.
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He is a master of exploiting the shortside, regularly darting back there after his teams have played away from the touchline and taking advantage of any overeager or lazy defence. Gibson-Park's kicking game has improved out of sight in the last five years, while his pace and appetite for getting stuck in have also made him a strong defender.
He ticks all the boxes as a scrum-half and now just needs to get rhythm back in his game as he plays for the first time in three-and-a-half weeks.
Hugo Keenan hasn't played for even longer due to a calf injury, his last appearance coming back on 31 May in the URC quarter-finals.
It has been frustrating for Keenan waiting for his Lions debut, but he knows Farrell loves what he brings at fullback. Recent form is important on these tours, but Keenan's body of work over the last few years gives him a big chance to start the Lions Tests at fullback.
James Ryan will get up and running off the bench. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The excitement of the warm-up games can sometimes lead to performances against relatively weak opposition being slightly overweighted, even if it is paramount that perceived Test starters still show their class in those build-up matches.
It was telling that Farrell picked out Mack Hansen's moment of huge work-rate as the play of the day in the Lions' win over the Force. That's the kind of stuff Keenan specialises in, along with his strong kicking game, superb aerial skills, quality in contact, and extremely low error count.
Blair Kinghorn is belatedly on his way to Australia, having won the Top 14 with Toulouse, and he is a more electrifying attacking player than Keenan, yet there is more to elite fullback play than that ability to create magic.
There is a battle for Keenan, with England's experienced, balanced Elliot Daly also in the mix and Marcus Smith having played at fullback in the Argentina game, but the Irish number 15 must be backing himself to win out.
Joining Gibson-Park and Keenan in returning from injury in Brisbane is the experienced lock James Ryan, who was hurt in the URC final.
The 28-year-old is an ultra-aggressive presence whose ball-carrying has hit a peak this season, while he is also a strong lineout operator. Leinster and Ireland tend to have their best days when Ryan is fit and firing.
He should not be discounted from the Lions Test squad mix, even with plenty of quality in the second row crop.
