Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Simon will fit in fine at Racing
SIMON ZEBO may be out in the cold as Ireland bid for Grand Slam glory but a warm welcome awaits him in Paris.
That’s according to Munster scrum-half James Hart who has made the opposite journey.
The 26-year-old joined the Reds this season from Racing 92 on a two-year deal and he believes Zebo will settle in quickly with the Parisians next summer.
Hart said: “Dan Carter is moving on next year but they’ve got a special group.
“You might not think it with the stars they have but I think they are a tight-knit group.
“You walk into the changing room and you have Joe Rokococo, Ali Williams, Szarzevski, Nyanga and the stadium but they are a hugely tight group so I think he will fit right in there. They name themselves the Racing family but they are a group that are tight-knit.”
Hart, who is set for his ninth appearance for Munster when they travel to take on Edinburgh in the PRO14 tomorrow, admits Zebo’s exit will be a big blow to the province.
He added: “Simon’s going to be hugely missed here, he’s such a quality player but he’ll enjoy it there knowing the kind of player he is and the lifestyle.”
Hart admitted that Ronan O’gara, then backs coach with Racing 92, was a huge help in him deciding to make the move to Munster.
He said: “I couldn’t speak more highly of ROG as a coach and as a person. He was brilliant to me in Racing.
“When I talked to him he said Munster had changed hugely since he was here.
“But obviously we had talks about the stadiums, the good days, about the fans and everything.”