To say that any duel is worth the admission money alone might be a bit of a stretch at €150 per ticket, but if any matchup is to fall into such a category at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, or indeed any other game in the 2025 Six Nations, it is Jamison Gibson-Park v Antoine Dupont.
In any other era, Gibson-Park might be considered the best scrumhalf in the world game. As things stand, Gibson-Park is the favourite to be next summer’s Lions Test ‘9’. But, in Dupont, he’s up against the best player in the world.
French rugby has, uniquely, always had a production line of scrumhalves but this is a misleading fact, for their number ‘9s’ are not remotely robotic. They are usually instinctive players of flair, very often goal kickers and capable of playing at ‘10’, the brains and the beating hearts who often transition into head coaches. At any point in history they probably have about half a dozen Test-quality scrumhalves.
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Jacques Fouroux is deemed the original ‘petit caporal’, then there’s Fabien Galthié, Pierre Berbizier, Dmitri Yachvili, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Morgan Parra and, of course, Dupont. He may not be a goal kicker, but he ticks every other box and more.
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By contrast, ala most countries, in Irish rugby the decision-making and goal-kicking are entrusted to the outhalf. They are afforded mystical status, while traditionally the scrumhalves have been there to serve them.
None did so better than Peter Stringer, while influential scrumhalves such as Tomás O’Leary, Eoin Reddan and Conor Murray brought serious running and kicking threats of their own.
But, perhaps more so than any Irish scrumhalf previously, Gibson-Park has become as much of a key decision-maker as the young pretender to the ‘10’ throne, Sam Prendergast.
Not only will Saturday’s game pitch two world-class players against each other, but thanks to law changes which have given scrumhalves more time and space, and afforded them more of a quarterback’s role, the influence of Gibson-Park and Dupont on the respective current Ireland and French teams has gone to a new level this season.
Like many team-mates, Gibson-Park looked a little undercooked in the Autumn Series but he has been back to his effervescent best in this Six Nations.
Supporting his kindred spirit James Lowe on the inside, there was that sumptuous step of Freddie Steward and finish against England, a couple of big try involvements against Scotland, and another assist against Wales with that kick-pass to Lowe on the edge for Jamie Osborne’s finish.
Indeed, as Ireland have morphed from less of a possession-based side to more of a kicking team, and with a new young outhalf, so Gibson-Park has become even more influential. Tellingly, against Wales his 14 kicks out of hand equalled Prendergast’s total.
It’s ironic to think that when Gibson-Park was starting out on his pro career with Taranaki, his first coach Colin Cooper informed him he had to kick more, to which the young scrumhalf responded: “Aw Coops, I just want to pass and run with the ball”.
Not anymore, and those big exits against Wales were instrumental to Ireland turning that game around from 18-10 down in the second half.
Speaking on BBC Rugby Union Weekly in the aftermath of Gibson-Park’s Man of the Match display in Cardiff, the 76-times capped former Scottish flanker John Barclay, who is part of an outstanding double act with Sam Warburton, went so far as to describe the Irish scrumhalf as the second-best player in the world currently.
“You talk about why he’s [Prendergast] so good at a young age; I think Jamison Gibson-Park is the second best player in the world, I really do. I think he’s that good.
“They were 18-10 down with 30 minutes to play and they scored 17 unanswered points, and it wasn’t amazing rugby. It was ‘apply pressure’; it was their kicking game and you look at Jamison Gibson-Park, two or three 50 or 60 metre box kicks.
“Prendergast has the same. He is unbelievably talented with his skill set and all that, but you’ve got Gibson-Park making decisions inside and Jack Conan, who we’ve chatted about, and Caelan Doris, the spine of the team, and then you’ve got Bundee Aki the other side of him. The decision-making either side of him, if you’re going to go into a team and have that level of experience and understanding of how to manage a game, that’s why it looks so effortless to him [Prendergast] I think.”
Speaking on Off The Ball this week, Brian O’Driscoll was asked which player from the current Irish squad he’d most like to have played alongside.
He picked Gibson-Park and cited Barclay’s eulogy.
“So, he is incredibly highly thought of, not just in Ireland but outside too. He had a quiet start to the season but I think since November he has elevated his game and has been absolutely outstanding in this year’s Six Nations so far.
“For me I just think what he would add to any team through any generation. He doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s a very different type of scrumhalf than Dupont. Dupont is physically super strong. He can make a bad decision but still get himself out of an arm wrestle. Against Italy he got tackled by three guys but still got the ball away to Guillard and they’re making a line break.
“Not many scrumhalves have that capacity. Gibson-Park probably doesn’t but he’s brilliant on the defensive side of the game. His ability to steal the ball at a ruck; these are super clever players. So, for me, I’d probably choose him.”
As for Dupont, he is now a sporting icon in his country since his return to Les Bleus after his post-World Cup segue into Sevens Olympics glory, something which has evidently refreshed him and, here’s a scary thought, maybe improved him as well.
He’s also been afforded even more responsibility. Previously, the French team’s approach had been termed as ‘le jeu en dark’, with its steady stream of pick-and-jams by the forwards or one-off runners designed to wear down the opposition’s fringe defence before the ball was moved wide.
Since Dupont’s return in November, he has become the conductor more than ever. He picks out forward carriers from pods of three, often in zigzag formation, to be supplemented by one of the centres.
Often, a winger will hug the opposing touchline for Dupont, or his outhalf, to locate with a cross kick, and Dupont can do so with pinpoint accuracy off both his right and left boot. Or they will go wide with two or three long passes to those potent outside backs.
It is equally direct and requires huge work-rate from the forwards. Hence the 7-1 split on the bench. But it is more nuanced, with Dupont by some margin the primary decision-maker, even by French standards.
“Our offensive strategy imposes positions that mean that the scrumhalf touches the ball more than the number 10,” said Fabien Galthié.
“Antoine likes to carry the ball,” said a smiling Thomas Ramos, who moved to outhalf alongside his kindred spirit last November and again in Rome for the 73-24 win last Sunday week.
“We have a system where we try to go a lot through our forwards. So, we have a game that revolves a lot around our ‘9’ in particular.”
True, Dupont was subdued against England, possibly due to the calf issue which had forced an early departure against Wales, or being partnered by the Bordeaux playmaker Matthieu Jalibert.
But in tandem with Romain Ntamack against Wales and Ramos against Italy, Dupont has been almost unplayable. As Arnaud David wrote in Sud Ouest: “For 50 minutes against the Welsh, Antoine Dupont sometimes trivialised the exceptional”.
In this Six Nations his 38 kicks out of hand are the fourth highest, and more than Gibson-Park’s 25. Among his 41 carries (bettered only by Blair Kinghorn and Gregory Alldritt), there have been three line-breaks, two tries, six try assists (the most of any player) and nine offloads (also the most).
But, as Arnaud also asked in Sud Ouest, is the French team’s playing system “built too much around its captain?”
“I praised him in my commentary,” the former French scrumhalf Guy Accoceberry, a pundit for Radio France, told Sud Ouest following the 43-0 win over Wales.
“The French didn’t have a lot of ball to play in the first half. Antoine made the others play in a fairly minimalist way by calling on his forwards. But every time he decided to play, it resulted in a try. Or almost.
“We were talking about it with Philippe Bernat-Salles [the former French winger],” added Accoceberry, who was part of the French 1997 Grand Slam team.
“We have the impression of a guy who plays at international level as if he were in the schoolyard. He is the best of the best. Everything seems easy to him. We have never seen a player dominate matches like he does.”
Then there’s Dupont’s clearly defined role in defence, where he’s afforded licence to read situations and shoot out of the line.
“If we don’t concede a point, he has a lot to do with it,” said Accoceberry.
“The fear is that there will be a Dupont dependency,” he acknowledges. “Antoine has superb qualities but opposing teams will adapt and target him. We can almost envisage setting up individual marking on him with one or two players. The French team must have two or three different plans.
“Currently, we see fewer very sharp launch plays, which were the characteristic of this team three or four years ago. There are other players with exceptional qualities. The potential of this team is a gold mine, but we really have to exploit it. Antoine is the hub but we can’t expect everything from him.”
Still, if a team is going to depend overtly on one player, then Dupont is not a bad option. Or Gibson-Park for that matter. Whoever wins this title decider, the odds are that one of the world’s two best players will play a key role.
Head-to-Head
Jamison Gibson-Park
Place of birth: Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
Date of birth: 23rd February 1992 (age 33).
Clubs/Provinces: Taranaki (NPC/ITM Cup) Pl 28 (5 tries); Blues Pl 27 (2 tries); Hurricanes: Pl 13; Leinster Pl 151 (33 tries).
Test Caps: 41 (7 tries).
Height: 1.75m (5ft 9in).
Weight: 80kg (176lb; 12st 8lb)
Antoine Dupont
Place of birth: Lannemezan, France
Date of birth: 15th November 1996 (age 28)
Clubs: Castres Pl 56 (9 tries); Toulouse Pl 122 (62 tries).
Test Caps: Pl 58 (15 tries).
Height: 1.74m (5ft 9in)
Weight: 85kg (187lb; 13st 5lb)
