Jamison Gibson-Park

Jamison Gibson-Park
Full name Jamison Gibson-Park
Date of birth 23 February 1992
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 12 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– Taranaki 32 (35)
correct as of 25 October 2014.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2013– Blues 21 (5)
correct as of 16 April 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2012– Māori All Blacks 7 (15)
correct as of 11 November 2014.

Jamison Gibson-Park (born 23 February 1992) is a New Zealand Rugby Union player who plays as a halfback. Domestically, he represents 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 Super Rugby season. [2] He 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

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]

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]

International career

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 specialiy made RFU Championship XV, and ending against the Canadian national team.[7]

References

  1. "Jamison Gibson-Park Taranaki Player Profile". Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  2. "Blues squad announced for 2013". 31 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. "Quake detour leads to final". 23 September 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. "Michael Bent best in amber and black". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  5. "Gibson-Park highly rated by rugby almanack". 3 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  6. "Blues revved for Les Bleus: rookie Gibson-Park". 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  7. "Halfback lives highs and lows of rep rugby". 30 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.

External links