A STEP TOO FAR, SIMON
Poking the Tigers may prove to be a mistake
JUST over 12 years ago, in their final game of the November international series, Ireland hammered Romania 43-12 at the old Lansdowne Road.
Ireland were motoring under Eddie O’Sullivan and would claim their second Triple Crown in three seasons a few months later. It was always going to be a turkey shoot — Romania, a fearsome outfit in the early 1980s, had been left behind by professionalism and were ripe for the plucking.
Towards the end of the match, Ireland openside Johnny O’Connor broke through for a try and celebrated with a flamboyant head-over-heels touchdown and fist-pump in front of the south terrace. It did not go down well — not with the Romanians and not with O’Sullivan.
That was O’Connor’s 10th cap, all starts, since his debut in the win over South Africa a year earlier but he would never start for Ireland again — winning just two more caps off the bench in the next Six Nations before being dumped at 26.
O’Connor broke the code and paid the price
Rugby was a more sober affair in those days, not quite as restrained as the amateur era (when try-scorers were expected to do no more than nod at their teammates on their ‘victory jog’ back to halfway) but the soccer-style celebrations and widespread wearing of coloured boots had not kicked in and the game was better for it.
There was a resident decorum and respect which has since diminished — O’Connor broke the code and paid the price.
Simon Zebo is very much a pin-up of the modern era — an extrovert who plays with a smile on his face and has the skill and ability to back up on-field antics that would have been frowned upon in a different era.
He is an extremely likeable guy, an engaging interviewee full of energy and enthusiasm who has become a hugely popular figure in Irish rugby due to his exciting style of play and ebullient personality.
Zebo grew up in Blackrock on the outskirts of Cork city which is established hurling territory.
The sporting landscape is dominated by the Blackrock club next to the Zebo family home with Páirc Uí Chaoimh less than a mile away and he has fond memories of playing for the ‘Rockies’ as a youngster. But, whereas once it was predominantly kids carrying hurleys around Blackrock, now you are as likely to see youngsters in Munster jerseys with Zebo’s name emblazoned on the back. He is the local hero but his popularity extends far beyond his home town these days and Smug? Simon Zebo mocks Leicester he is now a role model for all those kids desperate to be like him.
Which is why you wonder at the knock-on effects when Zebo’s natural exuberance goes too far — which was certainly the case in Munster’s win over Leicester in Thomond Park last weekend.
Celebrating a try with some preplanned dance moves is going to make you a hit on social media and undoubtedly helps sell tickets and merchandise down the line — particularly after Zebo’s heartwarming explanation of how it was a special performance for his young son — but it was also disrespectful to the opposition, just as O’Connor’s celebration was all those years ago.
There was no need for it — this was the punch Muhammad Ali never threw when George Foreman was headed for the canvas in the Rumble in the Jungle. But worse was to come.
After the match, Zebo was pictured holding up a sign that had the 33-10 scoreline splashed across it, with an expression that may have reflected his natural good humour but could easily be interpreted as smug satisfaction.
Leicester are a proud club, with a distinguished history and culture, they were beaten off the park in Limerick, was there any need to resort to open mockery on the back of it?
This is not merely the griping of a back-in-the-day merchant hankering for the higher (some would say blander) practices of yore. There is a practical aspect to this also.
Last Saturday was merely the first installment of Munster’s December back-to-back Champions Cup showdowns with Leicester and they must go to the Tigers’ lair on Sunday and do it all again.
They will be facing an animal that has not only been licking its wounds but also sharpening its claws for a must-win assignment — as important to restoring Leicester’s sense of identity and self-worth as it is for keeping their Champions Cup hopes alive.
The Tigers have been fuming all
week, the public focus of their ire directed at what head coach Matt O’Connor believes to be Munster’s illegal tactics at the breakdown as well as the broken jaw sustained by Telusa Veainu.
Both complaints are disputable — Munster played referee Jerome Garces far better than the visitors, while there was nothing deliberate about the challenge that injured Veainu.
However, what cannot be disputed is the fact Munster have handed Leicester extra ammunition for what promises to be a ferocious day at a feral Welford Road. Privately, the Tigers will also be seething at Zebo’s dance routine and scoreline mockery — and they are right to be.
It is exactly the type of affront Munster would traditionally have seized upon to fuel the chip-onthe-shoulder belligerence that served them so well in big European games over the years.
Time was, such behaviour would have seen a player dropped as a means of sending out a powerful message on standards to others — particularly with a return fixture to be played the next week.
Zebo has ensured Munster will face a very different Leicester on Sunday. It is one thing for Munster to tame the Tigers, but there was no need to poke the bear and it may come back to bite them on their gyrating backsides.