Zebo: USA video 'was quite funny'

With ten Irish players gone for the summer to Australia with the British and Irish Lions, the season isn’t over for everyone else.

Interim Ireland head coach Les Kiss is preparing a squad to tour the USA and Canada with a flight leaving on Saturday morning, while another squad of emerging talent prepare for a trip to Georgia.

In total 28 players will head to the States which will see them winding down for the season in front of the new Ireland coach, Joe Schmidt, who is expected to travel as well as a spectator.

One of the players relishing the tests is Munster’s Simon Zebo who will be aiming to rid the memories of his side’s disappointing exit from the Heineken Cup this season.

Speaking at training in Carton House yesterday, Zebo paid tribute to his team-mate Peter O’Mahony, who was made captain after Rory Best got a late call-up to Warren Gatland’s Lions following Dylan Hartley’s suspension for verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes in the Pemiership final at the weekend.

Zebo joked: “Now that he’s captain he’s made me drive him all the way up here. I think he is getting a little too big for his boots, but he’s great fun and great to have a conversation with so I thought I’d post a picture to show how much craic he was.”

Captain pete way too funny this morning on the way to Dublin!! #kingofcraic pic.twitter.com/vOSSIpJqO3

— Simon Zebo (@SimonZebo) May 27, 2013

This writer coaches a school rugby team in Dublin and at the beginning of the season I asked my players, what have you got to do to make a good captain?

One of the answers I have picked out for this piece was “Well u don’t have to be the most talented player in your team but you should keep your mouth talking all the time during the game like making sure your players are doing what they supposed to do. If you see that something is wrong talk to the ref about it, for example you see a knock-on and the ref doesn’t call, basically just keep talking throughout the game to lead you team.”

Captain O’Mahony wouldn’t exactly agree with that answer and speaking at yesterday’s press conference he said it wasn’t about being the loudest person on the pitch or off it and said at times you just have to shut up and get on with the task at hand.

Zebo – having played under O’Mahony as captain at Munster in the past, said: “He’s one that does his talking on the pitch by how he plays and he wouldn’t be too mouthy in the changing room or anything.”

“Peter out on the pitch leads by example and that is why he makes such a great captain because everything he does on the pitch, people just want to follow him and he’s a great man to lead into a battle.”

Looking ahead then to the tour Zebo reckons he and his Munster team mates are over the Clermont defeat.

He said: "Playing away from home we had chances to win and do something special but it didn’t happen and now a lot of the players have just hit the re-set button and we are excited and focused about the tour to the States and Canada.

"It’s also about putting your best foot forward and tring to impress Joe (Schmidt) and try and nail down a spot for the Autumn series."

Ireland have only played the USA on seven previous occasions, winning all seven games, most recently in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in South Africa where under Declan Kidney won 22-10 in a game where the American’s caused some problem’s.

In their build-up to the game in Texas on June 9, a promotional video was aired on television featuring an actor, dressed up as a leprechaun, heckling American captain Todd Clever.

In it, Clever was seen whispering to the leprechaun what he and his team mates were going to do to Ireland. So perhaps the US could be confident of pulling off a gigantic upset?

Commenting on the video Zebo said: “I saw that video, It was quite funny. I thought Paul Marshall was in the video there for a few minutes but, turns out, he wasn’t.

"The US team are constantly evolving and getting better. I don’t think there was much intended to cause us offence in that video. It’s just a bit of fun as well I suppose."

Just in case you haven't seen it, have a peek here:

US rugby team build up to Ireland clash with cringeworthy promo.