Jamison Gibson-Park
| Date of birth | 23 February 1992 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb) | ||
| School | Gisborne Boys' High School | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Scrum-half | ||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2012–15 2016- |
Taranaki Leinster |
32 4 |
(35) (5) |
| correct as of 10 Sep 2016. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2013-15 2016 |
Blues Hurricanes |
29 13 |
(10) (0) |
| correct as of 6 August 2016. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2012–15 | Māori All Blacks | 8 | (15) |
| correct as of 11 July 2015. | |||
Jamison Gibson-Park (born 23 February 1992) is a New Zealand Rugby Union player who plays as a halfback. He represented Taranaki in the ITM Cup.[1] He made his provincial debut in 2012 and his strong performances saw him named in the Blues squad for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Super Rugby seasons.[2] He currently plays for Leinster Rugby in Ireland, after playing for the Wellington-based Super Rugby franchise the Hurricanes. Gibson-Park has international experience as well with the Māori All Blacks
Early life
Having been born in Auckland and spending the first 10 years of his life on Great Barrier Island. From there he moved to Gisborne. He ended up at Gisborne Boys' High School, where he excelled in its first XV, being named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools squad in his final year.[3] He then got picked up out of school by the Taranaki Academy where he moved at the start of 2011. Then in 2012 Gibson-Park trialled for the New Zealand under-20 side he had then surprisingly missed selection.
Domestic career
Taranaki
Gibson-Park made his debut for Taranaki in 2012, playing the season's first two Ranfurly Shield matches against King Country and Wanganui. He was contracted and made the Taranaki National Provincial Championship squad, making his NPC debut starting at scrum-half against Bay of Plenty. He made an immediate impact with his decisive running and ability to spot a gap. His ability to put a player into space also caught the eye. Gibson-Park was one of the then break-out stars of the 2012 ITM Cup in his debut year for Taranaki, scoring four tries in eleven appearances and was awarded the most promising player of the year ahead of finalists Mitch Brown and Seta Tamanivalu.[4] His performance didn't go unnoticed by the national media or the Super Rugby coaches. He received high praise from television, print and radio commentators and had been named one of the five promising players of the year by the Rugby Almanack.[5]
Blues
In 2013 he was signed by the Super Rugby side the Blues. He earned his first Super Rugby start in the Blues historic 21–28 loss over the Bulls in round four of the competition. Gibson-Park was also a part of the memorable Blues team to face France, getting his chance cause of injury with All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu.[6]
Gibson-Park had a slow start to the 2014 Super Rugby season because of stress fracture but finished the season appearing in two matches of rounds ten and eighteen coming on as a replacement against the Hurricanes and Crusaders. 2015 was a strong year as he started at halfback majority of the year, who along with Brendon O'Connor were the only players who had played in every game that season for the Auckland franchise.[7] Gibson-Park recorded one try while also being pointed out by many commentators as a key figure for the Blues in what was his final season.
Hurricanes
October 2015, Gibson-Park was the last to join the Hurricanes 39-man Super Rugby squad after head coach Chris Boyd looked to fill gaps at halfback after the departure of Chris Smylie to Italy. He joined alongside fellow Taranaki halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.[8]
International career
Māori All Blacks
Although the then 20-year-old Gibson-Park had only played eleven matches for Taranaki, Jamie Joseph, the Māori All Blacks coach, selected him for the 2012 UK end of year tour to England, playing against domestic club team Leicester Tigers, a specially made RFU Championship XV, and ending against the Canadian national team.[9]
References
- ↑ "Jamison Gibson-Park Taranaki Player Profile". Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ↑ "Blues squad announced for 2013". 31 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ↑ "Quake detour leads to final". 23 September 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ↑ "Michael Bent best in amber and black". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Gibson-Park highly rated by rugby almanack". 3 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ↑ "Blues revved for Les Bleus: rookie Gibson-Park". 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ↑ "BLUES HONOUR MEALAMU AND PARSONS IN FINAL MATCH". 10 June 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ "Jamison Gibson-Park, Loni Uhila complete Hurricanes Super Rugby roster". 28 October 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ "Halfback lives highs and lows of rep rugby". 30 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.