Simon Zebo eyes perfect Leeside farewell against Glasgow Warriors

Fri, 23 Feb, 2018 - 00:00

Charlie Mulqueen

Otherwise, they will struggle once again against the runaway Guinness PRO 14 Conference A leaders and, in the process, bitterly disappoint Zebo’s huge bank of Cork supporters for whom this will be the last opportunity to see him in action at his beloved home venue.

The talented Corkman will obviously be a central figure in this evening’s game even if he himself will be concentrating on completing a home victory above all else.

“I am just enjoying every moment that I can in a Munster jersey,” he said. “Even after a bad loss like last weekend, it does mean so much to me personally and to everybody in the squad to wear the jersey. If we perform like that, it can be quite frustrating.

“Glasgow are in form even though they have so many players missing with Scotland. It just shows the strength and depth that they have as a squad and where they are going as a team. Our first 20 minutes are going to be massive. We have to lay down a marker. Playing at home again, we need to use that to our advantage.”

Johann van Graan has made no secret of his displeasure with the performance against Cardiff and has made 12 changes for the visit of the Warriors. Most significant comes at half-back where Tyler Bleyendaal starts at out-half ahead of Ian Keatley, with James Hart taking over from Duncan Williams at nine.

Billy Holland returns as captain for his 180th appearance with the province while flanker Dave O’Callaghan makes his first start since returning from a long-term knee injury, with Chris Cloete and Robin Copeland continuing as his back-row partners.

Captain Rob Harley plays his 178th game for Glasgow and so becomes their most capped player. The 27-year-old flanker made his debut against Leinster in 2010 and has been a regular ever since, scoring the side’s first try in the PRO12 final victory over Munster in 2015.

Given that Glasgow hold a 16-point advantage over Munster at the top of Conference A, it is virtually inconceivable that the gap between them could be bridged. However, Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie sees no reason for complacency. “Munster clearly have aspirations to top the pool and to do that they’ll likely need to beat us this weekend,” he said.

“We’re well aware of their strengths, they’re direct and tough and have an excellent kick-chase, so we’re going to have to be disciplined and not give them opportunities to choke us.”

There has been an unusually large number of meetings of the sides over the past few years. They clashed four times last season, Munster enjoying a 100% record, but Glasgow swept to an emphatic 37-10 victory at Scotstoun in September with some of those games suggesting there was little love lost between them.

“There has been a bit of needle, definitely a bit of rivalry,” said Zebo.

“They have always been really physical. We have gotten the better of them on most of those occasions so they are going to want to come here and get one back on us. We have enjoyed the encounters. To go out and get another one would be great and it’s essential this weekend on the back of a poor performance.”

Van Graan is looking forward to renewing acquaintance with Musgrave Park, which he regards as a “lovely little venue where Munster are very well supported”. “I know from the players’ perspective that they love the surface and the stadium.”

The South African is only too well aware of how difficult it will be to finish with the desired result. “Glasgow are the form team of the competition this whole year,” he said.

“Their continuity game is pretty special at this stage. they do one or two things around the breakdown that you have to be aware of and their broken-field attack, especially from turnovers in their own half, you have to be at your best to stop them.”