Simon Zebo happy to do the dirty work to help Ireland

Simon Zebo never woke up in the morning having dreamed of the kick and chase game. He never fantasised about competing for a high ball and slapping it back.

Dreams are rarely prosaic but if there is one thing Joe Schmidt has brought to the Irish side and players like Zebo, it's a broad streak of pragmatism.

The Irish winger would be recognised as a dangerous player against any side with the ball in his hand and just a shaft of light between two defenders. His instincts are to have a go and he's good at it. But in the opening matches of this Six Nations Championship there have been precious few opportunities.

Zebo will graft. And even there Joe has taught him to love it.

“It’s one of those things where it would probably be seen as one of the more mundane aspects of the game for Tommy (Bowe) or myself,” he says.

“It’s something we get excited about because it’s helping out the team. When we see the lift the team gets from Tommy slapping a couple of balls back, our side getting momentum pushing on and getting scores that’s what we are doing it for, the collective.

“In order to win the game you need to play what’s in front of you. Throwing the ball out wide for the sake of it is not going to win us games. We need to see the picture and what’s winding up in front of us and make the right decisions.”

England, if anything, are expected to close down space even more than France did. With their hard up defence Ireland may be forced to play the ball faster or player it deeper. Expectations of the park opening up for Zebo have been shelved.

With Johnny Sexton shaping the game, territory and cross field balls, normally aimed at Bowe, will be a feature. But with Luke Fitzgerald growing with every match and Dave Kearney and Keith Earls back in the squad, Zebo may have his likes and dislikes but being a cog in the wheel is just fine for now.

Being part of a winning team also has value but don’t ask him if slapping back high balls rocks his cage like a side step and 40 metres of open pasture.

“No. If I’m being honest they wouldn’t,” he says. “But you definitely get satisfaction from seeing the team do well. The reason I started playing rugby was the excitement I get out of those things like putting someone in space or scoring tries.

“At the end of the day if we win I get a couple of slap backs or regain a high ball then that will make me twice as happy as scoring tries.”

England come to Dublin without their fullback Mike Brown, who has not yet recovered from concussion, with Alex Goode stepping in. Doubtlessly Brown's experience will be missed but the Irish left winger sees the deputy coming in as every bit as dangerous as Brown.

“Yeah, it’s a big blow but Alex Goode is a top quality player,” says Zebo. “He’ll do well if he comes in. We’ve seen his attacking ability at fullback in the Heineken Cup consistently. For him to come in... he doesn’t take away anything from their threats out wide.

“I’ve played against him a good few times. We’ve played Saracens a lot in the past couple of years and he’s probably some of the best footwork I've ever seen attacking the line at pace, change of direction.

“It’s a very exciting back three and we know how dangerous they are. Goode with his counter attack ability will probably lead the line for them so yeah we’ll probably want to keep him quiet.”