Smiling Simon Zebo primed for challenge of life in Top 14

Simon Zebo never needs much excuse to approach each day of his life and every game he plays with a smile on his face, and his decision to leave Munster next summer has only strengthened his resolve to do so more than ever for the remainder of this season.

Having revealed that he spoke with close friends such as Conor Murray, Ian Keatley and Peter O'Mahony as well as family members before deciding to leave, Zebo has no regrets about his impending move to Racing, although he could not confirm where he would be playing next season, nor for how long.

“I can’t say. I would tell you if I could,” he said, before joking: “It is not Leinster anyway.”

Zebo dropped the broadest of hints that he will return to his native province one day but, at 27, he wanted to try the Top 14 while in his prime rather than at the end of his career.

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“It wasn’t too much of a distraction. I knew the decision was coming up and I just had to make a decision for me and what I consider is best for me and my family. It’s something I always wanted to do and the right opportunity at the right time came up. I’m still young enough, I could always hopefully one day [return]. The door isn’t fully closed on me. I’d still love to be a part of Munster Rugby in the future.

“But trying out the Top14 is always something I wanted to do. I could have waited until I was 31 or 32 and be a sheep like 90 per cent of all the players who decide to go then but I wanted to try it when I’m in my prime and give it my best shot. I’m true to myself and I know who I am so I do things my way and I’m not shy about doing them.”

Blessed

Reaffirming his desire to return one day, Zebo said: “Munster is my home. In my eyes, it’s one of the best places in the world to play rugby. I’ve been blessed and very grateful to be given the opportunity to represent Munster for the past few years. This is a step I’ve wanted to take in my life, but definitely not closing the door and, hopefully, Munster wouldn’t close the door on me either because it’s my home.”

He knows he runs the real risk of missing out on playing for Ireland while based abroad, given the desire of Joe Schmidt and the IRFU to protect the provinces, and there have already been consequences. But Zebo has even taken his omission from the Guinness Series last month with a smile, maintaining: "I was okay. I was kept busy and I was with my kids a lot so I didn't have the TV on too much."

But he admitted: "That'll be tough too in the future. But Joe [Schmidt] said the door wasn't closed, so if he's telling the truth and I'm playing well in the Six Nations then I might have a chance to get in there."

He also admits he’s “not looking forward” to watching Munster play in the Champions Cup and Pro14 from afar, but added that “it just makes me enjoy it that bit more. I am really, really trying to enjoy it as much as I can. I remember chatting to ROG a few years ago, slagging him, saying he was really old and he was laughing at me, giving me the old wink and the nod, saying, ‘it will be gone before you know it’. It was only when I made my decision that I realised how fast the years had gone by”.

“I wanted to make this season one of my most memorable and enjoyable seasons I have ever had. Winning something would be the icing on the cake. We want to win three trophies here, so that is the goal, we want to be in a position like we were last year, where we were in contention, playing in finals and semi-finals is the goal and hopefully if we get to that stage of the season, then we can learn from our mistakes last year.”

Dancing

To that end, he marked his fifth try of the season for Munster, which extended his all-time record for the province to 58, by augmenting his trademark ‘Z’ hand signal with some dance moves. It was, he revealed, for his 2½-year-old son Jacob.

“I kind of lost myself for a few minutes but I was just enjoying it. I was dancing with my kids all week and threw one or two videos on social media of my kids going crazy. We had a lot of fun at home, in the playground, in the car, everywhere we were going, we were having a great week, so I told my son if I scored a try then I was going to do a dance. My partner [Elvira] was telling me she had to rewind it a few times because he was enjoying it so much. That made me happy.”

Next Sunday's rematch with Leicester will go some way toward determining whether Munster are contenders again this season, and drawing on the lessons from last season's defeat in the corresponding fixture, Zebo admitted: "Our physicality needs to be increased compared to what we'd produce at Thomond Park because at Thomond Park it is easy to be motivated for games, with that crowd behind you, at a 7.45pm kick off.

“At Welford Road it is the reverse effect, they have the 16th man, they have the extra two or three inches bulging out of their chests. Last year, they bullied us in the breakdown, in the tackles, in the ball-carrying contest. It is a narrow pitch so it is going to be a bruising, physical encounter and whoever wants it more is going to come away with it.”