{"id":132594,"date":"2025-10-19T20:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132594\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T20:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:22:09","slug":"simon-zebos-persistent-interjections-distracting-for-leinster-v-munster-viewers-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132594\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Zebo\u2019s persistent interjections distracting for Leinster v Munster viewers \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The novelty of Croke Park<\/a> playing host to big rugby games has moved on to the point where there is now something of a tradition about the Leinster<\/a>–Munster<\/a> match in the United Rugby Championship being played at Jones\u2019s Road where, as shown by the television cameras in the tunnel as the players exited, the rather appropriate signage read: \u201cGAA \u2013 Where We All Belong\u201d.<\/p>\n

There was also a Mind Your Head sign which, you\u2019d think, had more relevance for those clad in blue and red on this occasion than for the regular hurling and Gaelic football players making their way on to the hallowed turf.<\/p>\n

For the Premier Sports team who\u2019d previewed the match from pitchside, much of the advance punditry centred on the two outhalves, with Bernard Jackman even venturing to compare the potential new rivalry of Leinster\u2019s Sam Prendergast<\/a> and Munster\u2019s Jack Crowley<\/a> to the one back in the day between Ollie Campbell and Tony Ward.<\/p>\n

Not that Simon Zebo \u2013 who is not shy about coming forward \u2013 had any doubts in his mind as to who had the edge in this newest battle to be Ireland\u2019s number one number 10. \u201cJack Crowley,\u201d responded Zebo when the question was put to him by Ross Harries, with Zebo joking he expected some correspondence from \u201cLeinster crybabies in my in-box\u201d for his adamant preference for Crowley.<\/p>\n

As Zebo added, \u201cJack needs to be given the keys to the car\u201d, those words directed not so much at the Leinster crybabies rather than at Ireland coach Andy Farrell.<\/p>\n

\"Munster'sMunster’s Jack Crowley mad a good case to be Ireland’s number one number 10. Photograph: Dan Sheridan\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Anyway, this URC match gave Sam and Jack the perfect opportunity to make their respective cases to Farrell, on what match commentator Ryle Nugent informed those of us sitting comfortably on our couches was a \u201cwindy, dirty, dank, old evening in Dublin town\u201d.<\/p>\n

And co-commentator Ian Madigan \u2013 who\u2019d also been part of the prematch musings before making his way up to the booth \u2013 gave us a hint of what was to come when informing Nugent, when down pitchside, that \u201cyou could hear the air coming out of the tackle bags\u201d such was the intensity of the teams\u2019 preparations.<\/p>\n

What you get with the Premier Sports commentary is a bit different from the norm. Nugent, ever the professional in focusing and commentating on what is being played in front of him, at this stage knows what is coming from his co-commentators Zebo, especially, and Madigan, who have this sort of bromance routine going on.<\/p>\n

With Munster playing like the Munster of old and getting the better of their old rivals, Zebo\u2019s persistent interjections of oohs and aahs and downright chortling in the background was distracting for the viewers, never mind for the man tasked with the primary duty of commentating.<\/p>\n

When half-time came with Munster the dominant force, Zebo calmed down slightly to observe: \u201cMunster will be delighted with the opening 40 minutes,\u201d to which Nugent could only respond: \u201c[A] compelling if not perfect [first-half].\u201d<\/p>\n

Back down pitchside, Jackman feared the worst for the men in blue. \u201cLeinster\u2019s body language wasn\u2019t good, [they were] at sixes and sevens. Have they got the mentality to go and do it? I have my doubts,\u201d he told Harries.<\/p>\n

Part of the prematch talk had ventured into the area of the discrepancy between how many Leinster players \u2013 21 \u2013 and how few Munster players \u2013 four \u2013 had been named in the Irish squad for the upcoming Autumn Internationals. And, before the second half, Madigan made a pertinent observation – \u201cWe\u2019re all human beings, we all like to prove people wrong\u201d – regarding how that perceived slight had been used by Munster.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Jackman\u2019s foreboding about Leinster\u2019s ability to mount a comeback in the second-half proved correct and Zebo\u2019s chortling became a constant in the background until finally he was unleashed from the commentary booth before the final whistle so that he could conduct on-pitch postgame interviews with a number of Munster players.<\/p>\n

Those interviews, to use the term loosely, were more like a fan-zone experience, with Zebo barely able to contain himself as he sought out the men in red with his microphone in hand. \u201cClass, bro!\u201d, \u201cUnbelievable, my man!\u201d <\/p>\n

In the circumstances, you couldn\u2019t but feel his joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The novelty of Croke Park playing host to big rugby games has moved on to the point where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,1007,18,13,14,6,19,17,73724,11,12,12861,15,16,12311,5,40692,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-132594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-croke-park","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-jack-crowley","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-leinster-rugby","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-munster-rugby","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-sam-prendergast","26":"tag-top-stories","27":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}