Growing at Great Barrier Island, the biggest challenge for the Jamison Gibson-Park Rugby team was to find anyone to play.
It was a four -hour trip in the car ferry to the nearest city, Auckland, so they were generally allowed to play with each other.
An unlikely breeding ground for one of the Irish rugby talismans, but back in the Currach, one of the three pubs of the island, the Gibson-Park's green shirt hangs on the wall with pride.
“We only leave the island perhaps once every two years,” says Gibson-Park, when he begins to go back to his 11,500 mile trip to the epicenter of the six nations in Dublin.
'Going to the city was a great occasion for us, jumping to McDonald's in Auckland. The only conclusion we had on the island was a fish store and french fries, so if you didn't like that, luck.
'It was certainly a rather rural education. There were perhaps 700 people living on the island. I was quite intact.
Gibson-Park is one of the first names in the alignment of Ireland and the key to his position of six nations
Gibson-Park at home in New Zealand, where he lived until 2016 when he joined Leinster
The 32 -year -old has reached 11,500 miles from his hometown to be a star for the Irish team
'I remember how my mother would write a shopping list and send it by fax, so everything would be sent in boxes.
'When the boxes rolled, he felt like Christmas. People would order food from the continent, but they all had their own vegetable gardens. There was hunting, there was fishing. It is a fairly unique place.
His grandfather was one of the first settlers on the island, which was named by Captain Cook.
The men of the family were highway builders, connecting the 27 miles of steep bays, beaches and hills.
“My old man was great in diving, so we spent a lot of time inside and around the water,” he says. 'I, my classmates and cousins had bicycles, so we traveled to school and then ended anywhere.
'We don't sit watching television. We were always outside, going on the beach on weekends.
'You can see the bay directly from my grandmother's house. You can see when the dolphins enter so you can go out and swim with them. They are not afraid of you.
'Things that leave you breathless. In the passenger ferry that extends in the summer, it is the norm followed by whales and dolphins. I probably don't appreciate it until it ages, but it's quite special. '
Gibson-Park is one of the best scrum halves in the world and has won 38 caps for Ireland
It will be a great threat to England in Aviva in Dublin on Saturday in the first game of the six nations.
The island's rugby team are Barrera Bushpigs. Named for the wild pigs that roam the thickets.
“They play a game a year, against a team that travels,” he says. 'There were no age grades, but we met to run on Saturday mornings. He probably had three, four, five and would have been running against adults.
It may not be surprising that Gibson-Park was one of the late flowers of sport.
His parents moved to the New Zealand continent when he was 10 years old, establishing himself in Gisborne on the east coast.
Instinctively, he was immediately attracted to the water, working as lifeguard during the summer, spending his time in the waves. It was his first sports love.
'Do you know that Surf Saving?' He asks. 'People are not really, but in New Zealand each beach has a surf club where lifeguards make sure everyone is sure to swim.
'Then there is Surf Saving's competitive life, in which my old man really pushed us. It is basically a race with different events; Swimming, kayaks, rowing panels and inflatable rescue boats. It was better in land things, such as beach sprints and something else called beach flags.
'I would have been doing that in Gisborne for about 10 years, before Rugby took over. You would finish school and go directly to the surf club to go to the water.
Gibson-Park is part of a great contingent in Ireland that plays together in Leinster, strengthening the team cohesion
Great Island of Barrera in New Zealand, where is Gibson-Park, was named by Captain Cook
'In New Zealand, Surfing is only part of growing. I spent a lot of time around the ocean, up to 20 years, before rugby became the main thing.
So, was he ever called action? “The only time I had to save someone was when we were on vacation in 2019,” he says. 'We were living in Ireland at that stage and we stopped in Hawaii on the way back to New Zealand.
'Everyone was jumping cliffs and this guy, even before jumping, did not fill you with trust. I watched it and, here, jumped and could barely swim. It was in a little problem, but we took him back to the beach and it was fine.
Rugby became the main sport of Gibson-Park after high school. Like the days in Barrier Bushpigs, I often had to hit over its weight, not doing the first XV of school until its last year, losing the New Zealand team under 20 years.
Anyway, Gibson-Park persisted, entering the Taranaki team, finally went up to the team's team to all blacks.
“It is probably fair to say that I was a late flower,” he says. 'I always loved rugby and I always felt that I was decent in that, but it was quite small and I played at a time when everyone was looking for a great nine.
'In New Zealand, it was around the time of Byron Kelleher, Justin Marshall, Piri Weepu, Jimmy Cowan.
'Things changed a little when Aaron Smith appeared. He created a new role through his pass ability.
Rugby was not even the main sport of Gibson-Park until after high school, and describes itself as a “late” vase “of the game
Before joining Ireland, he won eight caps for Maori All Blacks between 2012 and 2015
'I was looking for a couple of different universities and then I had the opportunity of Taranaki, fortunately. They asked me if I wanted to go and have a crack, so there was nothing to lose.
From nothing, Leinster called in 2016, when Gibson-Park was playing the second violin in the hurricanes, trained by Chris Boyd. It was his unlikely ticket for a new life in Ireland.
Half of 5 -foot scrum 9 inches, with its strong step and its ability to weave strong phases, made the ideal candidate for the Irish province.
“I wasn't looking to move, but came the offer that Leinster was looking for nine,” he says. 'We had a quite good year in the dogs, but I was not really playing.
'I was the second TJ violin and he was going very well weapons. This opportunity came and, you know, the rest is history.
'I know they say I was signed as a project player, but playing for Ireland was probably the furthest from my mind at that stage.
'I just wanted me to settle in Leinster. Playing for Ireland really did not come true until I was really qualified, but then it was another year before it was in the calculation. ''
Gibson-Park began on the bench for Leinsster and Ireland, but his rise has been exponential.
Gibson-Park was a bank player initially for Leinsster and Ireland, but has increased rapidly
It has been established as director in the Irish rugby high phase game plan, without a doubt one of the first names in the Simon Easterby Team sheet for this weekend's game against England.
It is essential for the soft transition between the club and the country.
“On most game days, some good of us would have been playing in Leinster in a similar system,” he says. “The four provinces are playing a similar football brand, so it certainly facilitates things when we enter the camp.”
The biggest selection that Easterby faces is whether Jack Crowley or Sam Pomartast will wear the old NO T-shirt of Johnny Sexton and his partner Gibson-Park in the media.
“We are blessed with the talent that comes,” he says. 'Sam and Jack are serious talents and are accumulating the pressure from each other.
'In the long run, it will be good for them. Johnny still enters and helps them. When I'm not in Leinster, Johnny and I go to the same gym.
'It's great to see him and he has a lot to give in a rugby capacity. He trained with us in one of the days during autumn and was carving it.
'He is now overturning with a corporate concert, but he still has it. He is playing a little football from five to the side … competitive like!
Revenge is in the mind of Gibson-Park while seeking to heal the wound of last year's English defeat
This weekend, with regard to the Irish, revenge is in the letters. Marcus Smith kicked a last minute goal to get the victory in the final play of the 2024 edition on Twickenham and Irish Heruts remains open.
“Obviously they warned us last year,” says Gibson-Park. Certainly for me, that adds some motivation. If someone surpasses it, feel a quite good challenge for the next time.
'They were fine that day. He gets a little when someone kicks a gout goal to overcome you. It adheres to memory, sure.
This year's tournament will be loaded with debates from the lions and, as things are, Gibson-Park leads the persecution of shirt No. 9 in Australia this summer.
“Everyone who thinks they have an opportunity will do everything possible to get on that plane,” he says. 'It's exciting, man. It will make the six nations even more competitive.
It could be the next chapter in his long and winding career, which is reaching its maximum point later than most.
Now 32, this could be your best year so far. His family has been granted the Irish residence, his children were born in Dublin and his name is written in the country's rugby folklore.
“It was a big problem when we obtained our residence,” he says. 'A moment of reflection on the trip you've been to. It gives you links with a place.
'It is far, how everything happened. It may not be the trip that everyone continues, but shows that there is always a way.
'It shows that it does not always have to be a soft navigation. Show that can advance from wherever.