JAMISON GIBSON-PARK knows Scotland would love to knock Ireland off their perch to establish their own title credentials.
But the scrum-half insisted having a target on their backs is nothing new.
Ireland have not lost to Scotland since the hosts beat them 27-22 at Murrayfield in 2017, a defeat then-coach Joe Schmidt blamed, in part, on the late arrival of the team bus.
No 2-ranked Ireland have switched coaches since with Andy Farrell replacing Schmidt after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Simon Easterby is now in interim charge while the Englishman focuses on the Lions.
But — having overseen that victory in his first game in charge — Scotland supremo Gregor Townsend has suffered ten straight defeats against Ireland.
And Gibson-Park accepts the Scot and his players will be keen to change the record.
The scrum-half said: “That’s the case for a lot of teams now. We’ve kind of been near enough to the top of the rankings for a while.
“I know myself that if I’m coming up against a quality side you want to put your best performance out there. Next week will be no different.”
Scotland view themselves as potential champions and the Leinster star agreed: “One hundred per cent. They’re a classy side.
“They’re playing good footie and they’re stacked full of really good individuals, so it will be a tough challenge. I know it’s been a long time since they won but there’s no reason they can’t.
“But what a place to go and what an opportunity for us to go there and have a crack at them.”
Gibson-Park made his mark in Ireland’s opener against England with his performance earning him the player-of-the-match award, as he linked up with fellow New Zealand import James Lowe — who had just returned from injury — particularly well.
And the 32-year-old took satisfaction from the way in which Ireland bounced back after a subdued first-half display to collect a bonus-point victory. He said: “Things might not be going our way, but we just have to be process-driven.
“We were reeling a little bit in the first half but to be able to swing it around in the second half and play some good footie, I think, pleasing. Long may it continue.
“Just a few bits of accuracy were costing us as well as good pressure from England. We didn’t have to change a whole lot.
“It was just a few passes stuck a bit better in the second half and we were able to get into some nice shape with some nice tries being scored.
“We were all a bit frustrated after November. We obviously won three out of four games but we didn’t feel as though we got much going.
“The second half was pleasing. There’s still loads to work on. We probably should have scored more points in the first half but plenty to look at next week.
“James hasn’t played a lot of footie so that’s pretty awesome to come out on the big occasion and have a game like that. Fair dues to him.”
‘SERIOUS PLAYER’
Although replacement Jack Crowley probably emerged better from the match than Sam Prendergast, who started, Gibson-Park is a big fan of the 21-year-old.
He said: “You’ve got a serious player on your hands. I thoroughly enjoy playing with him. He’s so calm under pressure. The first half wasn’t really going our way but we were able to swing things around.
“He’s a serious operator. He’s been very lucky to be able to come through the system and he’s trained against some quality teams in Leinster. When he wasn’t playing, he was able to train and we saw his game developing, which is the sign of a quality player.”
Along with Crowley, fellow replacements Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan made a big impact off the bench.
And Gibson-Park said: “It’s awesome, isn’t it? You get a massive lift. Seeing Sheeno and Jack on the bench you know we’re going to be finishing the game well.”
