Simon Zebo points to ‘important’ yet overlooked detail that inspired Ireland to beat England
A couple of days have passed since Ireland recorded a historic victory over England at Twickenham in the Six Nations.
Simon Zebo, along with the Emerald Isle, will have been thrilled to have seen Andy Farrell’s side quieten some of the questions and doubters ahead of their trip to London with their performance on Saturday afternoon.
The former Munster star had previously been involved in some famous victories with the Irish against the English, including the 2015 Six Nations third round when Joe Schmidt’s side were 19-9 winners as they marched towards the title.
Zebo believed that Farrell and his coaching staff prepared the Irish side perfectly for the clash, but he admitted that it did help that Steve Borthwick’s side were not at the races.
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However, he spoke about one important factor that will have inspired Ireland to put in a performance of this magnitude.
Ireland Under-20s’ unlikely victory over the English in Bath on Friday night is an element Zebo believes was key to the seniors winning 42-21 in Twickenham.
He said: “We know how important that win was. You know how much confidence it filled the senior group with. I've been there as an under-20, and you hear these things – 'All the seniors are watching, and it's going to have a big knock-on effect.'
“As a senior player watching the under-20s, it does; it inspires you, and it gives you that sense of belief and the want to match their achievements, and they certainly did that. Both the under-20s and seniors had some questions to answer, and they did that. It's great to see.”
Where are Ireland after the win at Twickenham?
Serious questions were being asked about the future of Farrell’s team and if they were on the decline following their Autumn Nations Series along with their first two performances in this Six Nations.
However, these have seemingly been silenced by the win by both the U-20s and seniors of Ireland at the weekend, as Irish rugby does not appear to be in as much trouble as first thought.
Zebo believes that this could be a monumental win for this Ireland squad moving forward, at least to the next World Cup in 2027.
He said: “It was a massive win and a great statement. A lot of players and coaches were being questioned. There was a dip in form, and it was pretty evident to see. They had been hearing rumblings of those things, and they had to prove a lot of people wrong through their performance.
“It was a great result for the confidence, for the performance and form for some players to prove a few people wrong and get a bit of momentum going into the back end of the tournament. It's a big win.”
However, the former Ireland international believes this win and performance need to be taken with a pinch of salt and doesn’t actually know where Farrell’s side now lies due to the poor showing by Borthwick’s team.
He said: “They performed incredibly on the day, and England were below par. They were actually very, very poor, and a lot of the rugby they were producing was way below Test standard.
“It's hard to say because England were so poor. Even with England being so poor, they'll have the belief that they squandered a few chances. They had the opportunity potentially to make the scoreboard look a little bit more flattering. But in terms of Ireland, it's hard to say.
“The remaining couple of games will tell a lot, particularly the game against Scotland. For the here and now, it was a great performance to answer a few questions that were there after the opening two rounds.”
Simon Zebo, Andy Goode & Jim Hamilton teamed up with BOYLE Sports to discuss the Six Nations. When your Rugby Union team goes 17 points ahead, BOYLE Sports pays out!
Topics: Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan