Simon Zebo's honest takes on Tom Farrell's Ireland hopes and Camille Chat's "disappointing" Racing 92 exit

Yesterday at 08:56 AM

The third round of the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup kicks off tomorrow, with URC Champions Glasgow Warriors first up under the Friday night lights for this weekend’s fixture list. The Scottish side host Racing 92 at their Scotstoun fortress, with both clubs recording a mixed bag so far in the competition, with one win and one defeat in their opening two Champions Cup matches.

Former Racing 92 wing Simon Zebo is excited to see how this one will play out, with some fireworks set to ignite a bitterly cold Glaswegian night. The 35-capped Ireland international can only see one winner up in Scotland, with Zebo firmly backing the Warriors given Racing’s turbulent run of form and internal turmoil. The Premier Sports pundit spoke to Ruck about Racing’s uphill battle in tomorrow evening’s fixture;

“If it was Racing of a couple of years ago under Laurent Labit or Mike Prendergast, I think it was a different brand of rugby played. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but they’re not firing well. They’re not playing well under (Stuart) Lancaster, really, it’s an edgy camp. There’s a lot of tension around the camp right now, and I just don’t see them being able to get the job done.

“I think Glasgow are in great form as URC champions. They’ve a lot going well for them at the moment, they’ve a lot key players in great form, and I think Racing are just struggling a bit. I think they have a few players missing as well, Nolan la Garrec is going to be out, he’s rested. Gael Fickou, he’s injured. I’ve just spoken to a few of them, it’ll be a very different team than what played Toulon last weekend. So it’d be interesting to see how they go. But I still fancy Glasgow to win for sure.”

The Parisians have endured a turbulent season of behind-the-scenes disgruntlement, with Stuart Lancaster steering a less than steady ship throughout the 2024/25 season. The latest news to come out of the French capital was the shock departure of hooker Camile Chat, with the front rower suddenly parting ways with the club following controversial circumstances, regarding Chat arriving at a training session in an unfit state to participate, following a heavy drinking session the previous night.

Zebo shared a changing room with Chat throughout his time in France, and called the whole situation ‘disappointing’, given Chat’s status as a 12-year Racing stalwart. Despite the unceremonious send off, Zebo expects the 35-capped French international to pick up a new club before too long.

“Very disappointing to see. You know, as someone who’s shared the dressing with Cammie for so many years, I know how much that club means to him. That was disappointing, and he had another four years, I think, on his contract, three years or something. He was an integral member of the squad, and has so much history with the club, it’s just not good to see.

“The absolute detail on what happened and why he’s leaving, when I was at Racing, I’ve seen worse than what’s reported happening, and there were no issues. It’s just sad to see. I wish him the best. He’ll pick up a club straight away. He’s an incredible athlete, an incredible player, but it’s just not great to see.”

Pivoting his attention from one of his former clubs to another, Zebo had plenty to discuss regarding Munster’s upcoming Champions Cup clash. The Irish province take on Saracens this Saturday, with Munster facing a must-win match, should they wish to progress further in the competition. A second round Champions Cup defeat to Castres has hindered Munster’s chances of progressing out of Pool 3, as they currently sit behind the Premiership duo of Saracens and Northampton Saints.

Two Munster legends that Zebo knows very well are eyeing up a return from injury this weekend, with Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray both expected to lead the fight at Thomond Park. The 176-capped Munster wing expressed how the returning duo would give a real lift to the young squad, and elevate the Irish province’s psyche ahead of the incoming Sarries clash.

“It’d be very, very important. Those two lads know exactly the level required to compete and to beat top quality opposition, like Saracens in Champions Cup. Munster have quite a young squad now, some players who haven’t been into the deeper end of the competition, and they want to I suppose, feed off Connor’s experience, Peter’s experience.

“That’s all very important to have those cool heads, experienced heads on the pitch, especially in tight, big pressure games. So I’d imagine it’d be tight. I know Saracens got a hiding recently off of Bath, but Bath can do that to any team, and especially if you’re down to 14 men. So it’ll be a very competitive game, Munster haven’t been firing off the charts yet, they haven’t gotten their game going yet, But no better than Saracens at home in Thomond Park, will be a cracker.”

Saturday’s colossal encounter in Limerick is also a significant match for Munster centre Tom Farrell, who continues his drive towards a call up into the Ireland squad for the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations. Farrell has been in strong form for Munster since arriving from Irish rivals Connacht, with a stand-out hat-trick of tries coming in a recent all-Irish derby win over Ulster.

However, a more recent Irish derby defeat to Leinster saw Farrell shrink under pressure, with Zebo wanting more from the Munster midfielder before any Ireland involvement could be considered. Couple that with a hefty pecking order to be Ireland’s 12 or 13, and Tom Farrell will have to prove his worth for a crack at an Ireland involvement throughout the Six Nations.

“I think he’s been going really well, but I think the centres are still a bit ahead of him.” Zebo added. “Like Gary Ringrose. I think he (Tom Farrell) didn’t play particularly well against Leinster. He got roasted there by Sam Prendegast for his try. That was a game really, to play against your peers, and he just didn’t fire.

“Munster didn’t fire as well. But, I think if he puts in another big performance this week, you never know. He’s probably not going to oust Gary Ringrose from the 13 Jersey, and I still fancy Bundee (Aki) or Robbie (Henshaw) at 12. He’s there in the mix, but he’s just not there at that top table yet.”

“He knows how to maximize his output on the field, and he’s been brilliant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Tom Farrell fan. His skills, offloading, his finishing even his try-scoring has been brilliant this year. But, there’s other proven centers, it’s a tough thing for him, in one of the strongest positions in Ireland. So it’s going to be very hard to break in, but you never know I’d love to see him get another opportunity, and potentially against Italy or a struggling Scotland.”

Casting his eye upon an exciting Munster prospect, and Zebo was delighted to see young wing Shay McCarthy offered a two year senior contract with the province. McCarthy is a product of the Munster development academy, and looks set to build upon his four Munster appearances in the coming seasons.

“He’s a fantastic young man. Anyway, first and foremost, he’s managed to learn and try and get better and prove himself. He’s become a valuable team member over the last couple of seasons, when anything’s been asked of him, he stepped up to it. I’d love to see him get a run of games and get in the mix and see where his ceilings at then if he can crack the international game.

“I’d like to see him more for Munster. From what I’ve seen, he’s a brilliant young man. He’s a fantastic competitor and he’s hungry for work, which is always great. When he gets on the ball as well, things happen. So, he’s been fantastic for Munster, and he’s a very well deserved extra couple of years, and hopefully he can kick on now again, because I’m a big fan of his.”

Simon Zebo will be part of the Premier Sports commentary team with live action of Munster v Saracens on Saturday from 5.15pm on Premier Sports 1 (UK & Ireland).

Rugby on another level: Premier Sports is the new home for Investec Champions Cup across the UK and Ireland with 80 live games this season across both EPCR tournaments including the knockout stages and Finals – visit www.premiersports.tv to sign-up. Premier Sports is available from £10.99 a month on Sky, Virgin and Amazon Prime plus streams online via the Premier Sports App. In the Republic of Ireland, Premier Sports is available as part of the 'Sports Extra' Pack on Sky, NOW, Virgin Media and Vodafone. 

The post Simon Zebo’s honest takes on Tom Farrell’s Ireland hopes and Camille Chat’s “disappointing” Racing 92 exit appeared first on Ruck.