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 – 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.”
