“It is a special game, it is going to be awesome”

the Rebel County and hint at inclusion in Declan Kidney’s touring party for this summer’s trip to New Zealand.

But for now the focus is on Leinster and his first involvement in a rivalry that, until now, he has watched from afar.

‘It is a special game, I have been going to them and watching them on TV up to now but seeing the i ntensity that they all bring together on the pitch, it is going to be awesome. To be involved in that is going to be pretty cool. I’m looking forward to it,’ said Zebo from his perch overlooking the sundrenched 18th hole at Fota Island Resort in his native county.

‘I love those big games, that is why I play rugby. I love to play against the Leinsters and Ulsters and all these big teams. It is good to play in these pressure situations, that is how you find out how good you are as a player and how you get better. I can’t wait for it.’

Mcgahan was full of praise for the young man’s enthusiasm yesterday and it is not confined to the pitch. He speaks with an unabashed honesty and you sense those couple of years scrapping away at club Under 19 and U20 level before joining Munster’s sub-academy have given him a true appreciation of where he now finds himself.

So when he is asked about his astonishing hat- trick away to Northampton, he does not cheapen the feat by trotting out the line that the win was the most important thing.

He admits the personal achievement mattered a lot to him.

‘It was pretty awesome to make an impact on the game and help my team-mates as much as I could,’ he said. ‘To get a hat-trick was pretty nice for me obviously.’

But Zebo is no ‘mé féiner’. He has lived the life of a squad member and knows the pain of non-selection must soon be forgotten for the good of the squad.

A try last week against Connacht all but guaranteed his berth on the left wing for Saturday but he has missed out often enough for the memories of rejection to still be sharp.

‘Going into this week and being part of it is something new and something happily I get to experience. It is something I have targeted and thankfully now get to play in.

‘It is pretty difficult when you are on the fringes of the squad. Everyone knows the fixture is coming up: “we have got Leinster, am I going to make the 23?” So, as soon as you hear the team, if you are not in it, it is pretty gutting but you just have to get your head around it.

‘Whatever way you do it individually, you have to help your teammates for the weekend.

‘In one way it is disappointing but in another it is exciting because you just want your team-mates to do well.’

O’gara was an idol rather than a team-mate of a 16-year- old Zebo when he scored the third try in that 30-6 Heineken Cup semi-final rout of Leinster six years ago. Asked for his standout memory of the fiercest rivalry in Irish rugby, Zebo has no hesitation.

‘I would say the Heineken Cup semi when Rog scored that try at the last minute and jumped into the crowd just summed up the whole rivalry. The passion in his face when he scored that and to see what it meant to the team. That, hopefully, is something we can emulate as a new team.’

With nine tries to his name already this season who would bet against him making it an even 10 on Saturday? If he does, the young man who watched so much of Munster from the terraces could be back in them.

Only ever so briefly, though. His future is on the pitch and it looks like a bright one.