When Jaco Taute arrived at Munster back in September as cover for the injured Francis Saili, he already had some acquaintances at Thomond Park. It was not just fellow South African and ex-Stormer players Jean Kleyn that he knew but also Simon Zebo and Conor Murray.
Taute, who recently signed an extension at Munster to keep him at the province for the remainder of the season, has three caps for the Springboks. The last of those came a little over four years ago when he started a 16-12 win against Ireland at Lansdowne Road.
In an interview with The42.ie, Taute told of meeting some future Munster teammates following the game. Munster men Simon Zebo, Conor Murray, Keith Earls, Donnacha Ryan and Peter O'Mahony were all involved that day.
At a function later in the evening, Taute got chatting to Zebo and Murray.
It was at the function after the match and I always remembered them. Sound fellas, friendly and talkative. Simon and Conor are great chaps, down to earth, humble guys, so I always remembered having a good craic after the game.
The night out did not end at the function. There was also a visit to Harcourt Street.
We did have a night out that night, I think we went to Copper Face Jacks. It stayed open late but it was fun!
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
