'When I'm smiling and happy, that's when I play my best rugby'
IT WAS THE most Simon Zebo of moments. Left-foot touch, a delicate left-foot chip, then a third nudge with his left boot before he was barrelled over for a penalty try.
The Munster man has shown plenty of flourishes of skill with the boot during his career – who could forget that heel flick against Wales in 2013? – and his effort in last weekend’s URD win over the Lions was up there as the most effective of them.
Two phases earlier, Zebo carries up the left-hand shortside, using his pirouette to eke his way upfield.
As Munster carry back infield, Zebo is now working to swing from left to right for potential involvement on the next phase.
So when RG Snyman offloads to ground and Jack Crowley does the same, leaving the ball bobbling dangerously before it comes back off the heel of a Lions player, Zebo is in position to make a play.
His first instinct is to nudge the ball ahead but even with everything happening quickly now, there is a touch of thought process too.
“The instincts come out with that hunger or desire to make a play happen,” says Zebo of what unfolds.
“The thought process is mixed in with that when I see their player slide to the ground and try to chip it over him rather than keep hacking.
“I didn’t think he’d go feet first! But as soon as I see him make that action of going to ground, I knew my next touch has to lift it over him.
“It’s a split-second thing but the ball comes up and I have to hurdle him as well. It becomes complicated but the creative side of me comes out when these things happen.
“It would have been a lovely try to score but at least we got the penalty try and the win. When these things occur on the field, they happen quite naturally but there’s a little bit of thought that comes into it.
“Even though they don’t always come off and I might get roared at in training sometimes for trying things, it’s part of my skillset to back myself to be able to do when the lights are on.”
Zebo had a strong two-match tour of South Africa with Munster as he started both games against the Bulls and the Lions at fullback, playing 80 minutes against the former before a 54-minute shift against the latter.
He had some key moments with ball in hand, including this carry in the build-up to John Hodnett’s try against the Bulls.
Later in the second half, Zebo made the final carry before Conor Murray’s game-winning try.
Again, the Munster fullback swings from left to right to offer another option on the openside. Zebo explains that Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast encourages his backs to swing like this during phase play.
“He wants us working off the ball whether you’re a winger or a fullback so you can have as many touches on the ball as possible and be available as many times as possible to influence the game,” says Zebo.
“It’s picking the right moments. A ruck off the touchline, you’re not generally going to get super quick ball because they have a full defensive line but when we get another ruck around the 15-metre line, you might see a carry get some gainline momentum or you might see their defensive line shorten up.
“He has a few triggers in play for when and why to strike because shortside attack is such a big part of our game, as you see with Ireland, Leinster, and the other provinces as well. So it’s about not vacating the space too early and having those couple of triggers on when and where to go.
“It might just be a case sometimes of looking at the first receiver and seeing his energy and excitement to get the ball – ‘we’re on here.’ You might not even have time to scan to the far wing to see if they’re short on numbers. It becomes quite instinctive after a while once you’re playing the system but it’s all about positivity and showing creativity.”
In this instance, Zebo receives a pass from Crowley out the back of centre Antoine Frisch but he’s almost instantly chopped down by Bulls wing Kurt-Lee Arendse.
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Zebo lands on his back and the danger of a turnover by Bulls centre Canan Moodie is clear.
But Zebo fights to buy time for Frisch and Crowley to get to the breakdown. Referees have been tasked with penalising too much movement from ball-carriers on the ground after they’re tackled but Zebo does enough here to help retain possession but not get pinged.
“Thankfully there was some support close to me to get the ball away because the altitude had me quite tired at that stage!” says Zebo with a laugh.
“But you don’t want to be the guy letting the rest of the team down by not making that last little bit of effort on the ground to get the ball back. You can do all the hard work and think you’ve done your job but no, your job ends when the ball is delivered and then you get onto another job and another job.
“Maybe a few years ago, I might have thought less of those little things but it’s very important to us.”
Zebo has always been comfortable as a distributor and it was particularly noticeable on the tour of South Africa how often he popped up as first receiver.
He made seven passes in each of the games, ensuring Crowley didn’t always have to be at first receiver, and provided the final pass for Shane Daly’s try against the Bulls.
Zebo with Peter O’Mahony.
“Mike wants me on the ball as much as possible and I love going in and out of first receiver. I would have done that quite a bit with Racing, with Finn [Russell], and even with Ireland before I left. Rob Penney was pushing me at an early age to be at first receiver.
“I’m very comfortable in there, I could probably play 10, to be honest! I’d back myself. But it is nice to go in there and it takes a bit of attention off Jack or Joey [Carbery] or whoever is in there. You also give the left-footed kicking option, the backfield can change when they see you go in at first receiver.
“It’s important for all of our backline to be comfortable there and everyone is getting much better at it. We’re interchanging and that’s important to the way we want to play because we have players working really hard and sometimes the speed of ball might beat them, so being interchangeable is important.”
Speaking of his left foot, Zebo nearly pulled off a 50:22 against the Bulls but the bounce didn’t favour him.
He explains that this was a decision based on how play was unfolding rather than a planned strategic call.
“In that scenario, it was just feeling the game and we needed to get pressure back on them,” says Zebo.
“We had shipped a pass, shipped a pass, and Kurt-Lee Arendse [yellow below] was on the blind wing. They had a red card so I was wondering, ‘Why isn’t he more central here?’ I was looking as the play was unfolding and I could see he was still there on the right side and I realised now was a good opportunity to go for it.
“But I’ll always be run-first. I want to hold onto the ball as opposed to kicking it away. That’s just a mindset, so once that shifts and a different picture appears, it’s about executing and getting as good an outcome for the team as possible.
“Loads of things would be popping in and out of my head as the play is unfolding. It’s just about picking the right one.”
It was also interesting to see Munster using Zebo’s left foot for a line kick from a penalty close to the right touchline.
“The touch judge took about 20 metres off me, that’s the only thing!” he says.
“Peter O’Mahony and somebody else saw I was going to take it and were like, ‘Right lads, get the line ready to chase!’ and I was like, ‘Are you mad? This is going into touch down in the 22.’”
Zebo also made some big defensive plays for Munster in South Africa, particularly with his covering work in the backfield.
His try-saving tackle against the Bulls was the highlight. Zebo’s involvement begins away from the ball as Munster lose an aerial contest.
Zebo is initially close to the aerial contest as Munster lose out.
So as the Bulls scoop the ball up and instantly begin to shift it towards the far side of the pitch, Zebo knows he has to get on his bike and work cross-pitch without delay.
“Any turnover ball against the Bulls, they have so much gas on the edge, you don’t want to give them a scenario where if you’re out of position, they might go to that area super quick,” says Zebo.
“If they get a 10-metre headstart on you, you’re dead.”
As Bulls out-half Johan Goosen runs across the pitch and then recognises he can beat Peter O’Mahony on his outside, Zebo has to initially close towards Goosen, rather than just corner-flagging.
But as Goosen passes out to wing Sebastien de Klerk, Zebo has to adjust and show his pace to get to the Bulls flyer.
Zebo shows he still has speed.
“The joints might notice it a little bit more but the acceleration and top-end speed seem to still be there,” says Zebo.
“I got a bit of open space against Leinster in the Aviva earlier this season and the top-end was quite good there. The acceleration for my try against Toulon, it doesn’t seem like a part of my game that’s dropping off as quickly as some people might have expected for a 34-year-old back three player.”
This tackle also involves Zebo accurately batting away a fend attempt from de Klerk, which is key to getting the Bulls wing to ground.
Zebo uses his own right arm to chop down de Klerk’s left arm, greatly increasing his chances of completing the tackle.
“As I’m running towards him, it’s a timing thing because I know if I’m in his situation, I try to delay my fend as long as possible,” says Zebo.
“Because some players go for a slap and if they slap too early, you can catch them after they miss your fend. So the later you hold your fend until the last second, that’s your best opportunity to get them. If you put out a strong arm too soon, it’s very easy to slap and very easy to read and then your body weight shifts, you fall easier.
“So to be fair to him in this case, I was very close and I was thinking, ‘He still hasn’t fended here, I’m going to have to change my tackle approach,’ but thankfully the fend came out and I read it well.
“It’s something that we practice in training all the time and from playing at fullback, when attacking wingers get the edge and you see them pin their ears back to go for the tryline, that’s when you really, really notice it.
“You have to have it in the skillset to deny those opportunities because they’re looking for offloads too, so going too low in those situations can be a killer too. It worked out well there, thankfully!”
Zebo loved the fortnight in South Africa as Munster picked up form with the play-offs looming.
It has been a good season for Zebo with eight starts in the URC and Champions Cup. His contract is due to expire at the end of this season so it remains to be seen what happens next, but the Cork man is loving his rugby.
“I’m playing well and enjoying it,” says Zebo. “When I’m smiling and having fun – I try to do that regardless of how big the game is or what the away atmosphere is like.
“I try to enjoy it. It’s a game that I started playing because I had fun. So if you’re not having fun, for me personally, I won’t express myself, I won’t be creative. When I’m smiling and happy, that’s when I play my best rugby.”
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Heineken® 0.0 Drop Kicks: Munster star Simon Zebo and Irish designer Barbara Bennett have collaborated to design a limited edition collection of trainers.
These exclusive kicks along with lots of other prizes are available to win ahead of the semi-final by playing the Heineken 0.0 Claw Machine at The Big Tree Pub near Croke Park this Saturday May 4th. Simon will be in The Big Tree ahead of kick off having the craic with fans.