SIMON ZEBO ADMITS he is worried about Ireland’s chances in a World Cup quarter-final based on their performances against Japan and Russia.
Ireland laboured to a 35-0 defeat of Russia today, securing the all-important bonus point following the shock defeat to Japan, but despite the scoreline the performance raised many of the questions that have dogged Ireland throughout 2019.
While Zebo, who has not played for Ireland since 2017, accepted that getting the bonus point was all that really mattered for Ireland against the Russians, he said the predictable nature of Ireland’s attacking game would be a concern.
Zebo, who has been overlooked for international selection since signing for French Top14 side Racing 92 in 2017, said;
“The performance (against Russia) probably wasn’t as good as we would have hoped. It was a little bit sloppy, not so expansive or things like that in attack. It just didn’t look as if, you know, going into a quarter-final, if we perform like that I’d be a little bit nervous.
Hopefully it improves, they have time to rest up now and look forward to the next challenge.”
The former Munster player, speaking as a Paddy Power ambassador, added that he expected to see Ireland adopt a different approach in Kobe.
“I thought maybe they would have tried have a bit more variety in our attack.
“I know conditions are greasy and the ball is like a bar of soap but you saw with New Zealand (v Canada), the two Barretts knocking balls over the line, but they are still able to put 60 points on the team. So yeah I would have hoped there was a bit more variety in attack, but we still have time to get it right.”
Ireland now have nine days to recover before their final Pool A game against Samoa next Saturday, before a possible quarter-final meeting with New Zealand a week later.
‘They’ll definitely know they will have to improve (for a quarter-final),” Zebo added.
“Predominantly I’d say in attack, just the one-out runners and kicking wouldn’t be enough to break these teams down, so just going forward probably (they need to be) a little bit more expansive, and I’d say we’d be in a good spot.”
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