THE PATH SIMON Zebo has chosen is the same one Jonathan Sexton has trod up and down before.
The Ireland and Leinster out-half moved to Racing Metro in 2013, leaving behind his native province for two seasons. Yesterday’s announcement that Zebo will depart Munster at the end of this term has signalled that he will be the latest Irish presence in the French club.
However, Sexton makes clear distinctions between his move after his first Lions tour and the switch that Zebo will reportedly make next summer.
“When I went it was a little bit different because there were no rules in place about not being able to play international rugby so the challenge for me at the time was trying to marry the two and it was very difficult,” Sexton said at an Aer Lingus coaching masterclass in Castleknock this afternoon.
“I found it very tough. To miss out on camps, to miss out on a week’s preparation in the Six Nations — even though we won the two Six Nations while I was away — it’s not ideal.”
While Sexton was allowed to juggle Test and club commitments, the landscape has changed and Zebo’s decision to move to the Top14 will likely put his international career on hiatus.
“It’s obviously a big call for him to sacrifice a World Cup potentially and what else can happen before that if we achieve what we want to achieve over the next few years it will be tough for him.
“But I’m sure he’s weighed all that up. And again, everyone’s circumstances are different. The decisions I made at the time maybe are totally different to what Simon is going through. I’m sure it was very tough either way, because he’s definitely Munster through and through. It would be good to see him back here in a couple of years.”
Zebo is fully entitled to take his short career wherever he wishes, but for Irish rugby fans there must be some tinge of disappointment that the terrific skill and flair Zebo was capable of bringing to international rugby was used relatively sparingly until the Corkman made the Ireland starting berth his own in the past year.
At 27 years of age, those abilities are certainly not on the wane and Ireland will have to be content with watching Zebo from afar.
“Him and Joe seemed to always get on well,” adds Sexton, “once Simon has been doing what Joe wanted of him, he’s got picked because he’s so talented and so good.
“From that point of view, I think personally Simon is only going to get better. It will be a loss of course for Munster and Ireland, but we’ve got so much good talent in the back three coming through. Not that it won’t be a loss, I’m sure it will be harshly felt in Munster.”
As Sexton says, the physically taxing nature of the Top14 and being outside the IRFU’s player management concerns makes adaptation difficult. However, he feels the task will be easier for Zebo if he is indeed out of the running for international honours.
“There’s no break, so when I went over there I’d just come off the back of a Lions tour. I played my first game four weeks later in pre-season, played 12, 13 games in a row and came back for November, then went straight back there.
Whereas if you’re in Racing and not playing international rugby there’ll be loads of breaks. Because you’ll have the two-week break at Christmas, a week break in November, you’ll probably get time off during the Six Nations.
“So as a non international-playing player, it’s not so bad. It’s when you have to try and do both I think is when you run into difficulty.
“So if I was to advise anyone, I’d say wait until the end of your international career before you decide to go over, but that’s in hindsight.
“I made the opposite decision.”
