Six Nations 2025: Hat-trick talk not a 'massive' focus for Ireland - Jamison Gibson-Park
2025-01-30
Category: sports

The prospect of becoming the first team to win three Six Nations titles in a row has not been a "massive" talking point for Ireland in the run-up to the tournament, says Jamison Gibson-Park.After the Grand Slam in 2023 and last year's title, Ireland are hoping to complete a hat-trick this year."I wouldn't say massive â it's been mentioned, but we're pretty week-to-week focused in here," said the New Zealand-born scrum-half."It's a cliche answer that you're used to getting but the most important thing is you focus on the game ahead of you and it's a pretty incredible opportunity to get after so we'll get stuck in."While Gibson-Park is certain to start at scrum-half, the identity of his half-back partner for the England game has been the subject of intense debate.Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast are competing for the 10 jersey in interim head coach Simon Easterby's line-up, which will be named at 12:00 GMT on Thursday."I think it's awesome to have such competition and getting cracks at each other," said Gibson-Park."Obviously we didn't get it at Christmas [when Crowley was not selected in the Leinster v Munster game], but I think it's great for them. "They're both going to be unbelievable players so I'm excited to watch that down the years."When asked if Gibson-Park found the level of focus on Irish fly-halves strange when he first joined Leinster, he said: "No, I think it's pretty much the same in New Zealand, the Dan Carter era. "When you think about ROG [Ronan O'Gara] and Sexto [Johnny Sexton], there was Carter and [Andrew] Mehrtens and all these guys so it's always a big talking point wherever you are really."