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Simon Zebo on why he left Ireland and his situation with current boss Andy Farrell
By Liam Heagney
Andy Farrell has named his 35-man squad for the rescheduled Ireland Six Nations matches later this month and it was no surprise that the name of Simon Zebo was absent from the list.
It was June 2017 when the former Munster back earned the last of his 35 caps in a win over Japan at Shizuoka. On announcing in October of that year that he would be joining Racing, Joe Schmidt, the then Test team coach, froze him out of his plans.
Not since the Six Nations title-clinching win at Scotland in March 2015 has a player based outside Ireland been capped, Johnny Sexton the last to get recognition. While Zebo is now at the same Racing club Sexton was, those days of calling up someone who doesn't play his club rugby for one of the four provinces seem over.
Appearing on RugbyPass Offload, the new podcast show he is hosting along with England's Dylan Hartley, Wales' Jamie Roberts and Scotland's Ryan Wilson, Zebo reflected on his cut-short Ireland career and explained where he currently stood with new Test boss Farrell.
"That's a tricky one. I haven't spoken to Andy in quite a bit of time now. We have a really good relationship anyway. He is a quality dude, a quality person. I haven't spoken to him in a long time.
"I suppose the door is never really closed. There is no official rule so if I was to play unbelievably well, play out of my skin, us [Racing] win a European Cup and challenge again next year, you never know what can happen but as of now, yeah, contact has been quite limited, unfortunately," he said.
However, the singular focus of playing club rugby in France has suited him compared to life with Ireland when a Munster player. "I just wasn't enjoying it. I wasn't happy, I suppose, going to international camp, meeting up, I'd kind of stay in my room all day, things like that. It wasn't a good place for me mentally going there towards the end.
"That definitely played a big part in the decision. I'm very happy now, so I suppose it all worked out. It was maybe meant to be like that for me. It's probably a little bit sad as well."
- To listen on iTunes, click here
https://open.spotify.com/show/3fZwAitUVlvzTbOxe9cNxq?si=xdCv9rS8Rku-Vjiko4wgEA
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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