Van Graan vouches for form of exiled Zebo

Simon Zebo looked his customary cheerful, ebullient self at the University of Limerick yesterday as Munster prepared for Saturday night’s Guinness Pro14 clash with Zebre at Thomond Park.

But it must have hurt him deeply to miss Ireland’s victory over France in Paris on Saturday, omitted from the squad ecause of the publicly expressed belief of coach Joe Schmidt that there had been a slump in his form over the past few weeks.

Very few rugby people understood where Schmidt was coming from. And Munster coach Johann van Graan yesterday lauded the huge part played by his exciting full-back in the team’s qualification for a home quarter-final in the European Champions Cup.