Ronan O'Gara: Simon Zebo the ultimate dressing-room radiator
Kind heart: Simon Zebo
I’ve knocked up against quite a few South Sea Islanders in my time coaching in France and New Zealand. Their body clocks are just different. Fiji time. No stress. What’s the hurry? Always smiling.
I’d have had no problem at all believing Simon Zebo is an islander at heart. He’s one of those rare people, always in good humour. In this trade, he’d be described as a radiator – an energy giver, not an energy sapper.
I only ran into him a couple of weeks ago down in Fota Island. Zeebs is a case study in the difference between reality and perception. People think he is cocky and brash but he is the opposite in almost every way. He has such a kind heart, has always been a very caring person, which makes him very easy to connect with.
It’s easy to trot out the rugby statistics, and it’s nice for him for sure. He scored 72 tries in 173 Munster appearances so far, making hm the province’s top try scorer. Her also scored 35 Heineken/Champions Cup tries, which is the most of any Irish player in the competition. I was there the afternoon in Milton Keynes 12 years ago when he scorched in from the left wing for a hat-trick of tries against Northampton on his European debut.
He made a strong impact too over three campaigns in Paris with Racing 92, and everyone found him easy to connect with. Truly he is one of the game’s enduring characters. That should never be lost. Sport has become homogenised but if the guy with the X factor gets squeezed out, that is a coaching error. There should always be a place for special talents, and there were plenty of times Simon Zebo was special on the pitch. He has a highlights reel that is off the Richter scale. And though he has been a very graceful player, a glider, he is far more physically imposing than one might think.
He had class, but he also had nuts. One of the many reasons he’s been popular and respected by those he’s played with.
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