Growing up on the idyllic Great Barrier Island in New Zealand, Jamison Gibson-Park dreamt of playing against The British & Irish Lions rather than pulling on the famous red jersey.
The scrum-half was a 13-year-old kid on a couch in Gisborne when he fell in love with the pomp and pageantry that surrounds a British & Irish Lions Tour, as the sea of red descended on New Zealand for the 2005 Tour.
Now, he is battling to become the starting No.9 for the Lions as they prepare to head to Australia, while trying to source tickets for the legion of Gibsons and Parks preparing to fly across the Tasman Sea to watch him.
The 33-year-old is an understated individual but even he cannot hide his excitement for the Tour. Eight years ago, he had just moved to Leinster and remembered the crackle at the RDS Arena as the squad was announced.
Four years ago, he had just become eligible for Ireland but was not really in contention. This time, though, he is perhaps the leading contender for a Test jersey.
“It is very cool, it is very special. It’s only now that it feels a bit more real I suppose. I got to the hotel and have met a few new heads, it is awesome,” he said at the Richmond Hill Hotel, where the squad are meeting for the first time this week.
“I probably was not ready for the last Tour but once I started to get a bit more exposure at international level, it became a bit more realistic. From then on, it has been a massive aspiration, so it is very cool.
“I have a lot of memories of watching the 2005 Tour, I remember it was just incredible. The support really memorable, the stadiums were packed, and I hope it will be the same this time.
“Fans will be coming back this time, which is really cool. It is special to have people coming to support you, so we hope to give the fans something to cheer about.”
Gibson-Park is one of three scrum-halves on the plane, with England’s Alex Mitchell and Wales’ Tomos Williams providing healthy competition.
He will have to learn to play with a new fly-half, with no Irish No.10 selected, but the 33-year-old is excited to get again work with coach Johnny Sexton – with whom he played for both Leinster and Ireland.
“I loved working alongside Johnny as a player and to do it as a coach is unbelievable am looking forward to getting into it,” he said.
“Alex and Tomos are a couple of unbelievable players, it will be awesome to spend time with them and pick their brains. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.
“It will be a blank canvas for everyone, so let’s see how we get on.”
While Australia and New Zealand are a three-hour flight apart, Gibson-Park is already plotting to meet up with family while Down Under.
“Great Barrier Island is very rural,” he added.
“I did not know it at the time but the population is very small, it takes ages to get anywhere because the roads are top to bottom.
“We were biking and running around in bare feet, that is just the way it was. My friends are having kids now, so they’ll be going through the same thing which is cool.
“You can fly, it is a small plane, I wouldn’t recommend getting on it, there is a passenger ferry otherwise. It’s four hours but it is worth doing.
“My family are dotted all around New Zealand but my folks are in Gisborne, hopefully they will make the trip over.”