The Munster man re-joined his Ireland team-mates at their base in Guildford yesterday having returned to Cork on Monday following the death of his grandfather John Geary.
Zebo, who was superb in Ireland’s 44-10 victory over Romania, attended the funeral before flying back to London to link up with the squad later in the day.
“It’s been a tough couple of days but getting back into camp and being around the lads again has been good,” said Zebo.
“He would have been like a father to me. He lived right around the corner from me. I would have seen him and my grandmother every single day and I have great memories of them.”
Since arriving back into camp, Zebo has hailed his team-mates for their support: ”Yeah, it’s been great. They were very quick in coming up to me and just saying how sorry they were and how upset I must have been.
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“But, you know, five minutes later they were making jokes and slagging me. They’ve just been great with helping me take my mind of it all.
I thought it would be a lot harder than it was to come back here. But it’s just been made easier by seeing the lads and I was pretty much able to snap back into it straight away.
“I’ve trained pretty well today so that was a nice confidence-booster.”
Wins against Canada and Romania were always expected and there is a palpable sense that Ireland’s World Cup campaign begins in earnest this week.
Victory against Italy at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday will secure Ireland’s place in the quarter-finals in Cardiff. The final Pool D encounter against France will decide the pecking order, but this weekend’s clash with the Azzurri is the sole focus for now.
“Yeah, it feels like it’s a massive occasion,” Zebo agreed. “It’s a knock-out game between the two sides. It’s all on the line for the two teams and we’ve just got to make sure that we come out on the better side of it.
“The first two games were obviously tough tests. They put us through our paces and made us work for our scores. At the same time, we can only play what’s in front of us, and we’re preparing now for a massive challenge and a step-up this weekend. It’ll be exciting.”
Zebo was superb in the win over Romania. David Davies
David Davies
The atmosphere generated by a record World Cup crowd at Wembley was one to behold. The sight of thousands of green jerseys spread across the length and width of the iconic stadium will live long and the memory.
The sizable Irish support are expected to pack out the east London arena on Sunday and the Millennium Stadium for the following week’s crunch clash with les Bleus.
“It’s been incredible. The fans have been amazing. Before kick-offs watching them gather around the stadium hours before kick-off and the atmosphere at the games has been incredible.
I think it really hit home with a lot of the lads at the Wembley game last weekend. It was insane, you couldn’t hear each other calling plays and things like that.
“It’s been inspirational. I hope it continues and I don’t doubt that it will.”
Ireland’s back three is arguably the most competitive area in this World Cup squad. Zebo has caught the eye, Keith Earls looks back to his best, Luke Fitzgerald offers versatility across the backline, Tommy Bowe has big game experience. That’s not even taking into account the Kearney brothers who both look likely to start against France.
The push for places has ensured a high standard of training with every player looking to impress Joe Schmidt and the Irish management at every available opportunity.
“The competition is huge,” the 25-year-old added, “So wherever you can you get an extra edge. If that means trying to show you’re performing better in training, then you’ve got to do that.
“Form is obviously a massive factor in selection. You have to just reinforce that to the coaches by training well and making them believe you’re the right man for the job.
“Every player in the back three and in the 31-man squad is trying to do that. That can only be good for us as a team.”
Ireland players rally around Zebo as Munster star returns after tough week
Rory Keane reports from Guildford
IT’S BEEN A difficult week for Simon Zebo.
The Munster man re-joined his Ireland team-mates at their base in Guildford yesterday having returned to Cork on Monday following the death of his grandfather John Geary.
Zebo, who was superb in Ireland’s 44-10 victory over Romania, attended the funeral before flying back to London to link up with the squad later in the day.
“It’s been a tough couple of days but getting back into camp and being around the lads again has been good,” said Zebo.
“He would have been like a father to me. He lived right around the corner from me. I would have seen him and my grandmother every single day and I have great memories of them.”
Since arriving back into camp, Zebo has hailed his team-mates for their support: ”Yeah, it’s been great. They were very quick in coming up to me and just saying how sorry they were and how upset I must have been.
“But, you know, five minutes later they were making jokes and slagging me. They’ve just been great with helping me take my mind of it all.
“I’ve trained pretty well today so that was a nice confidence-booster.”
Wins against Canada and Romania were always expected and there is a palpable sense that Ireland’s World Cup campaign begins in earnest this week.
Victory against Italy at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday will secure Ireland’s place in the quarter-finals in Cardiff. The final Pool D encounter against France will decide the pecking order, but this weekend’s clash with the Azzurri is the sole focus for now.
“Yeah, it feels like it’s a massive occasion,” Zebo agreed. “It’s a knock-out game between the two sides. It’s all on the line for the two teams and we’ve just got to make sure that we come out on the better side of it.
“The first two games were obviously tough tests. They put us through our paces and made us work for our scores. At the same time, we can only play what’s in front of us, and we’re preparing now for a massive challenge and a step-up this weekend. It’ll be exciting.”
The atmosphere generated by a record World Cup crowd at Wembley was one to behold. The sight of thousands of green jerseys spread across the length and width of the iconic stadium will live long and the memory.
The sizable Irish support are expected to pack out the east London arena on Sunday and the Millennium Stadium for the following week’s crunch clash with les Bleus.
“It’s been incredible. The fans have been amazing. Before kick-offs watching them gather around the stadium hours before kick-off and the atmosphere at the games has been incredible.
“It’s been inspirational. I hope it continues and I don’t doubt that it will.”
Ireland’s back three is arguably the most competitive area in this World Cup squad. Zebo has caught the eye, Keith Earls looks back to his best, Luke Fitzgerald offers versatility across the backline, Tommy Bowe has big game experience. That’s not even taking into account the Kearney brothers who both look likely to start against France.
The push for places has ensured a high standard of training with every player looking to impress Joe Schmidt and the Irish management at every available opportunity.
“The competition is huge,” the 25-year-old added, “So wherever you can you get an extra edge. If that means trying to show you’re performing better in training, then you’ve got to do that.
“Form is obviously a massive factor in selection. You have to just reinforce that to the coaches by training well and making them believe you’re the right man for the job.
“Every player in the back three and in the 31-man squad is trying to do that. That can only be good for us as a team.”
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