SIMON ZEBO SAID that being excluded from the Irish squad is hard to take but he knew that could happen when he told Joe Schmidt that he was moving abroad.

He said he had no regrets about the decision despite his international exile and is comfortable with himself that he had the guts to make the move.

Zebo, speaking after Munster’s 20-16 loss to Connacht at the Sportsground last night, said he could not say what club he is joining at this stage, although he did confirm he was going to France.

But he vowed to finish his time with Munster on a high.

“I’ll stick with it now and give it my best shot. I’m actually quite stubborn with what I decide to do, if I decide to do it I’ll definitely go ahead and do it. It’s always been a dream of mine, I’m going to pursue a life in France and hopefully enjoy that, give it everything I have. But first there is a massive season that I’m very excited about.

“I know where I’ll probably end up but until something is announced I can’t really comment on it.”

Zebo said he spoke to Schmidt about his proposed move and knew that he would probably not be included by Ireland.

“I spoke to Joe and he explained his reasons around it and obviously you know that could potentially happen, but it’s never easy when you are not involved in a squad.

“If I wasn’t able to compete or if I didn’t think I was good enough then it would just go over my head, but it’s a level that I should be at. I’ve proven I should be at it, so that’s why it’s disappointing. But I’ll back the boys they’ll go at it hammer and tongs.”

The 27-year-old said he had no regrets about his decision and that going to France was always part of the plan for his career.

“I wouldn’t say regret because I’m the one who decided to be in that position and it’s just like anything, playing for Munster was a dream of mine since I was a child, playing for Ireland was a dream, playing for the Lions, you know, and playing in France was a dream.

“I’ve French family, I’m half French and I like the way rugby is played over there, so it was an obvious fit for me to go and try and experience. I’ve a very short career so I wasn’t going to let it go by without trying it. At least I’ve the balls to do it, I won’t shirk away from a challenge so I won’t look back on my career with any regret.”

Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:

‘To play 200 times for this province, you’d never dream of that’

‘It’s nobody’s fault’: Rassie sees no sign of bitterness from Zebo after Ireland omission