Leinster's failure to fully bed in an out-half has been one of the storylines of a strange season in the blue camp.
Sam Prendergast began the campaign as their number one number 10 but such are concerns over his defence and his confidence that didn't make the matchday squad for Saturday's Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles (2.45pm Irish time).
Ciarán Frawley, a man trusted by Andy Farrell for big games and who came within a whisker of scoring the winning dropgoal in 2024, has been starved of minutes in that role.
Harry Byrne, sent out on loan last season, returned reborn but when he needed to bring an assured performance in the semi-final against Toulon, he didn't deliver.
Leo Cullen has named an unchanged side from the semi-final so the 27-year-old starts against Bordeux-Begles but Leinster's chances of success weigh heavily on his inside man.
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is the team's 'petit general' and if he goes well, Cullen's side have their best shot at delivering a first title since 2018.
Two years ago, Antoine Dupont carried the entire Toulouse team on his shoulders as he produced the most incredible rugby performance when the French side beat Leinster after extra-time in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Gibson-Park, of 170 Leinster, 51 Ireland and three British and Irish Lions caps, should revel in the contest against one of Dupont's Les Bleus deputies in Maxime Lucu, who forms a formidable partnership with Matthieu Jalibert.
The New Zealand native has played 500 minutes in this season's tournament, scoring one try in seven games.
"I think Leinster will kick a huge amount," said Bernard Jackman on the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
"And then try and save their energy for when they get into that 22, that direct power game that has been quite good for them, playing off Gibson-Park, hard around the corner, square on the line, good cleans. A lot of teams can't live with them with that."
While Leinster stumbled along in the pool stages and survived some uncharacteristic lulls in their knockout wins over Edinburgh and Toulon, Gibson-Park maintained his levels of consistency, and it's hard to think where they would be without him.
His option-taking, game-management, kicking ability, speed of pass, and support lines are a joy to watch; he's the beating heart of this Leinster outfit, "the metronome, the one who regulates the rhythm", wrote former Leinster and Ireland centre Gordon Darcy in the Irish Times this week.
Lucu and Gibson-Park first went head-to-head when Ireland stunned France in the opening match of the 2024 Six Nations (above).
The former Blues and Hurricanes 9 outplayed his man on that occasion but their next encounter came in Dublin in 2025 when Lucu replaced the injured Dupont after 28 minutes as France blew Ireland's Six Nations hopes out the water.
Toulon's Baptiste Serin usurped Lucu in the last Six Nations, while Gibson-Park finished strongly after getting dropped against Italy in round two.
His clever try against England (below) set the stall for a record victory at Twickenham and he was named man of the match.
Both come into this final in brilliant form. Gibson-Park pulled the strings as Leinster built up a lead that they needed to overcome Toulon.
Lucu got the better of his tete-a-tete with Dupont in the quarter-finals, leading the UBB comeback with 10 points off the tee and involvements in all four tries against defending champions Toulouse. It was a statement performance.
The 33-year-old kicked five conversions, a penalty and scored a try as they beat Bath in the semi-finals.
"He is a pretty special player, I think he's a proper rock star over there in Bordeaux, and rightly so," Gibson-Park said of his opponent.
"He does a bit of everything, he does a bunch of work for them on defence, kicks the ball unbelievably well, great threat on attack, so yeah, he's pretty much the full package, certainly a bit of a talisman for them.
"One of the lads was just telling me he has signed a four-year deal or something, a 33-year-old, so hats off to a man, what a legend."
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Bernard Jackman has gone full circle... and now he's backing Leinster to beat Bordeaux 👀
🗣️ 'Leinster are just peaking at the right time and Bordeaux are looking human' 🎙️#rterugbypodcast #rtesport pic.twitter.com/siB92iWcMC
Byrne took a yellow card against Toulon and while there were some positive moments, he looked slightly spooked after some poor kicks at goal and touch.
His opposite number Jalibert is full of confidence, playing like he doesn't have a care in the world.
Protecting his more inexperienced out-half will be part of Gibson-Park's remit on Saturday, taking on more responsibility to spearhead Leinster's drive for five.
It's set to be a brilliant battle. Whoever comes out on top may well be holding the silverware come Saturday evening.
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Follow a live blog of Ulster v Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final (Friday, 8pm) and Leinster v Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup final (Saturday, 2.45pm) on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app.
Listen to live commentary of the Champions Cup final on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
