'I do not know what happened to me that day. I'm not a bad guy'
Simon Zebo has insisted his run-in last October with Michael Lowry is past tense as he prepares to play in his native Ireland this weekend for the first time since his summer switch to Racing 92.
The former Munster back was asked by referee Nigel Owens to apologise after he tauntingly pointed his finger at Ulster rookie Lowry when he raced in to score Racing’s bonus point try in their convincing 44-12.
Zebo did so and while the incident dominated much of the post-game fall-out, the Corkman is now heading to Belfast for the return match against Ulster in Saturday adamant the case is fully closed.
“I do not know what happened to me that day,” said Zebo in the latest edition of Midi Olympique, the French rugby bi-weekly newspaper.
“I’m not a bad guy and for me, it was just fun. In training, we often do these little things after making a nice trick. I just get carried away by the excitement.
“On the spot, (Stuart) McCloskey ran to me, very upset. As for Nigel Owens, he just told me I did not have to do this kind of thing, that I was better than that: he also asked me to apologise… the case is now closed,” insisted Zebo, who even presented Lowry with his match jersey in the dressing room as a further act of contrition.
Lowry will be on the bench when Ulster take on Racing in this weekend’s round five Champions Cup encounter, and it will be interesting what type of reception Zebo will receive from opposition players and supporters at a Belfast ground where he has yet to be beaten by Ulster.
Munster won an October 2010 league game and drew in May 2015 when he previously faced the northerners at Kingspan, but he believes they are the province that best expresses itself in Ireland.
“Ulster is the Irish team that plays the most,’ he said, an opinion that should interest Zebo’s old rivals Leinster, the reigning European and PRO14 champions.
“The guys carry the ball, attack and attack again until you actually crack! Their three-quarter line of three is very fast. The key for us is to slow them down.”
Cut from the Ireland squad ever since he announced in October 2017 that he would be moving to France, Zebo admitted he hasn’t had any contact with national boss Joe Schmidt for quite some time and isn’t expecting an Ireland recall any time soon.
“So far, Joe Schmidt has not considered that I could be useful to the selection, so I will continue to have fun at Racing.
“If I do the World (Cup), it’s great. If not, it will not be the end of the world. Maybe I do not fit the player stereotype that can please the coach. Or maybe I’m not playing well enough at the moment. Anyway, it has been a long time since I have talked to Joe.”
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Johnny Sexton was the last overseas-based Ireland player whom Schmidt made an exemption for, including the out-half in his Test teams from 2013 to 2015 even though Sexton was playing for Racing at that time.
Sexton eventually returned home to Leinster without consistently playing at his best for the Parisians, but Zebo believes the language barrier, which doesn’t apply to him as he is fluent in French, was one of two issues that hindered him.
“Johnny is a general: he likes to lead, to talk to others, to order the game and he probably had a hard time passing his views in a language that was not his.
“He may have had difficulties, too, in adapting to the French game. Here, the players are more free, there are more off-loads and less instructions.
“Everything is very structured in Ireland: phase after phase, everyone knows their place in the field. The players follow the determined script.”
Zebo has quickly settled into the French way, adding he is enjoying the run of constant matches in the Top 14, a tournament he feels is more competitive and popular than the PRO14.
“On the final stages of the Champions Cup or derby weekends against Leinster, I know there are extraordinary atmospheres. But the Celtic League, only two or three teams fight for the title and it doesn’t have the popular reach of the Top 14.
“In France, over the weeks, there are always more fans, more and more fans, more and more noise. It’s everything I imagined.
“Until last year, I played a maximum of 24 games per season. In Munster, I never played, for example, four consecutive games and, when a big Champions Cup match was announced, we were systematically put to rest 10 days before.
“In France, every game has its importance: sometimes, it’s to avoid relegation, other times to hang on to a place in the finals. The club presidents have invested: they want titles, they want their internationals to play, win and that’s normal. In Ireland, IRFU manages the size of the four provinces as it sees fit. They are the boss.”
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments