"Brotherly Rivalry" - Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park excited to face Lions teammate Henry Pollock in England clash

Gibson-Park revealed how the added connections following a shared expedition in the famous red jersey, has added a 'brotherly rivarly' to this year's clash between England and Ireland. The halfback spoke in the week about how Andy Farrell's side know all too well about the threats that Steve Borthwick has at his disposal, with plenty of personal battles expected to ignite in South West London this Saturday.

"There's a little bit of mate-ship created between us, I suppose, and to me that adds to a rivalry. Like when I think about inter-pros in Ireland, like they're some of my favourite games to play because you know the lads, and I've spoken about it before but it's kind of like a brotherly kind of rivalry.

"We played with these guys for two months during the summer and got to know them pretty well, some great fellas, so to me that adds to the challenge and to the rivalry, and I love that kind of stuff. So it's gonna be hard, but I look forward to it."

One such former Lion man that Gibson-Park turned the scope upon, is England's break-out back row star Henry Pollock. The Northampton Saints man took the honour of being the youngest member of the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad, following a sensational rise through the ranks at just 20-years-old. After taking good care of 'Bil the Lion' out across the land down under, Pollock has been named to take the eight jersey this Saturday, in what is his first Test match start for England.

"He's unreal man, an unbelievable athlete, moves unbelievably well, seriously quick, great with the ball in hand. He's a serious one to try and take away his strengths. He's exactly how you see online, so you guys [the media] probably know him as well as I do. He's a great young fella, full of energy, and we'll be looking forward to getting out there against them."

Another former Lion and Northampton Saints man that Gibson-Park has his eye on for this weekend, is his scrum half opponent Alex Mitchell. Having spent a Summer training alongside the England halfback, and battled against him in the iconic Champions Cup semi-final clash with Leinster, Gibson-Park revealed what he is expecting from Mitchell this weekend.

"He's a great player, isn't he? He adds a lot to their game." Gibson-Park added. "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 he's pretty consistent with his box kicking as well, so he's a pretty well-rounded kind of player and one I love to come up against."

Both scrum halves pride themseleves on delivering quick ball to their sides, to keep the attacking line firing at a ferocious rate of knots. Gibson-Park admitted that Ireland's recent ruck speed has been slightly slower than he would have liked, with quick-ball being the order of the day for the trip to Twickenham.

"It's something we as Irish players kind of pride ourselves on, our ruck work. Like you say,it wasn't good enough against France. Probably a little bit better on the weekend, but certainly areas we can still be better at."

Gibson-Park took a seat amongst the replacements for Ireland's second round Six Nations clash with Italy this past weekend. Craig Casey was promoted up to the starting nine jersey, with Gibson-Park quick to look for feedback as to why he was dropped to the bench.

"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."

Casey found himself on the receiving end of a brutal head-to-head collision this past Saturday, as the Munster man was left with a bloodied nose after going too high in the tackle on Italy back row Lorenzo Cannone. It was an unfortunate passage of play for the halfback, as Casey was subsequently sent to the sin bin for his efforts, as referee Hollie Davidson adjudged him to have approached contact illegally.

"I think that's the main thing, isn't it? You've got to be seen to be level changing somewhere, whether it's the hips or the knees, or both. But yeah, it's tough." Gibson-Park expressed. "Get away from his head."

Andy Farrell has recently deployed a 6-2 split with his replacements, as the forward heavy alignment left just Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley as the back-line options to come on for an impact against Italy. Such an approach relies upon the need for versatile backs to cover multiple avenues, as Crowley has previously been deployed at full-back upon his replacement appearance against France. Gibson-Park revealed how Ireland fans could well see him run out for a shift on the wing, should the need arise against England.

"For sure it's something we have to be over the detail and be ready to do, but likewise we have some pretty versatile backs across the back line, as well as some pretty versatile forwards who can fill in on the wing if they need to. It's part and parcel really sort of playing 6-2, but I'd love to get a run on the wing."

"I enjoy it. It's something I do a little bit in training, the weeks I'm not playing in Leinster, I'll try to get a run on the wing at fullback because I think ultimately it can aid your game in ways and get a bit more of an understanding. I do find it enjoyable."