O’Callaghan inspired to play on by emergence of Munster young guns

The screams for Simon Zebo from the younger fans outside the Munster dressing room at Musgrave Park may have been high-pitched and piercing but the appreciation for Donncha O’Callaghan’s contribution to his province’s cause lingered longer in the Cork air on Saturday night.

Two tries for the young wing with the X factor as he continued to make his way back from a long spell on the sidelines have rightly earned Zebo an adoring fan base, but Musgrave Park belonged to Donncha on the night the 34-year-old became Munster’s most capped player with his 241st appearance.

It is the younger players, O’Callaghan said after he helped his beloved Munster to a 36-8 bonus-point victory over Zebre, that help to keep a spring in the veteran lock’s step a month short of his 35th birthday. They’re why he signed a new two-year contract earlier this season and a reason his head coach Rob Penney thinks there is so much more left in the tank for a player capped 94 times by Ireland but feeling as fresh as he did when he made his debut in the same arena at 19 in August 1998.