Jamison Gibson-Park has backed Ross Byrne to lead Leinster to Champions Cup glory - and give his young family another chance for a special Aviva Stadium celebration.
The scrum-half made it back in time from a calf injury for Ireland to come off the bench in Murrayfield before starting in the Grand Slam clinching home victory over England.
Afterwards, his two daughters Isabella (8) and Iris (3) joined the on-field party.
READ MORE: James Ryan: Let's conquer Europe for Johnny Sexton, Leinster's best ever player
“Yeah, they love it, eh? The eldest is probably old enough now to grasp what’s going on," Gibson-Park smiled.
"The youngest one hasn’t a clue, she’s away with the fairies, but it's pretty cool. She's at school now so her pals would have watched and seen them on TV and all that kind of stuff.”
It's a celebration that could be repeated with the European decider locked in for the Lansdowne Road venue on May 20.
“Hopefully, all going to plan," said the Kiwi. "We’ve got the chance now. There has been a lot of hard work to get to this point.
"This is what we targeted at the start of the season, to be in the Aviva, back in front of our home fans and families. We’ve given ourselves a proper chance now so we have to give it a proper rattle.”
But Ulster will be first opponents - and, potentially, the last - to have a say in that when they meet Leinster in the last 16 tomorrow.
Three years ago the men from the north pushed their interpro rivals all the way at the same venue before going down 21-18.
The Blues were without the injured Johnny Sexton on that occasion - and will be for the remainder of this season after he had a groin op this week.
As in 2019, Ross Byrne will play at no 10. But Byrne is a different animal now, having come out of a Test exile that lasted 18 months to play his part in the Six Nations.
“He has been brilliant," said Gibson-Park, who has been Byrne's half-back partner on a regular basis over the last few years.
"He had to put up with a bit. He wasn’t in the Ireland fold but he put his head down and went to work for Leinster. He's been class the last number of years, so fully deserves the opportunity.”
The no 9 sees a big similarity between Byrne and Sexton. “In terms of their communication, yeah," he said.
"They are both brilliant communicators so that makes my job a whole lot easier.
"Johnny has probably rubbed off a lot on Ross over the years so that must be a pretty privileged position, to learn from a guy like Johnny. He’s a great player in his own right.”
The big concern for Leinster is whether they can prepare and play with the same intensity and drive without Sexton on the front line.
Gibson-Park insists they can, and will. "The leadership around the team is pretty strong, I'd say," commented the 31-year-old.
"It's not as if it is just Johnny talking, there are some brilliant leaders and then Ross as well, who's obviously played a lot of rugby at no 10 for Leinster.
"So it's not like it's a big deal for him. He slips in pretty well and leads the team and then we've obviously got brilliant coaching staff as well.
"Obviously we miss Johnny dearly - but it's not like there's a massive hole.
“I'm bitterly disappointed for him and it’s pretty sad to think he might not play for Leinster again, but he'll be floating around doing rehab and stuff - and he has always got a lot to say with regard to how we are playing.
"He is essentially another coach so there's certainly a lot for him to do.
“The other boys are brilliant, really - there's a good bit of depth there and full confidence in whoever plays in that role.”
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