Zebo out due to 'wear and tear': Schmidt
By Brendan O'Brien
"Wear and tear" and a desire to freshen up a side playing its fifth Test game in six weeks has prompted Joe Schmidt's decision to draft Luke Fitzgerald and Cian Healy into the Ireland side to face Scotland on Saturday afternoon.
The Leinster pair replace Munster's Simon Zebo and their provincial colleague Jack McGrath for a penultimate Six Nations contest which will go a long way towards deciding who claims ultimate honours for the 2015 championship.
Zebo can consider himself unlucky to be left out on the basis of performances so far this campaign, but Schmidt suggested after naming his team today that a number of players could have suffered that fate.
"With Simon, he has started the last nine matches. He has played throughout the Six Nations and he has just shown signs of wear and tear," said the head coach of a player who drops entirely out of the 23-man squad.
"He's got a few niggles so we just wanted someone who was at 100% as opposed to someone who has worked incredibly hard on their game but is just starting to show signs of wear and tear.
"We've got a number of guys who have played throughout the championship and a number of guys who have played intermittently through the championship and it's the same with Jack.
"Jack has been superb for us but it is an opportunity for Cian to have a bit more training time with the team as much anything. If you are coming off the bench you don't get as much time and (it is) just for Cian to get a bit more time with the team."
Fitzgerald will wear an Irish Jersey for the first time since November 2013 when he faced New Zealand in Dublin and he returns after two years that were virtually destroyed by career-threatening injury problems.
As for what he brings with him?
"A real freshness," said Schmidt. "He has been champing at the bit for a while. He has been close to being included the last two weeks and Simon's performances have made it difficult for him to get in.
"It's just those signs of wear and tear, it's something we have been thinking about the last two weeks. Maybe not just there but other players as well. We have tried to find a balance between a little bit of continuity and a little bit of freshness as well."
Fitzgerald's last start for Ireland was as far back as August of 2011 when he featured in a World Cup warm-up tie against France in Bordeaux.
"It has been a long road back for Luke after a lot of injuries, but he has a exuberance and a positivity that make it difficult to keep Luke down for a long period of time," said the Ireland coach.
"Injury forced him to be away from the pitch for long periods, but he is very keen to get back and that exuberance is something we will need this weekend."
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