Back in 2015, Simon Zebo's Munster future was the source of much speculation.
The Cork-born outside back was approaching the end of his contract at his home province, and a move to Guy Noves' Toulouse at one point seemed more an inevitability than a possibility.
Zebo's father Arthur was a Martinique-born French sprinter, and qualified for the 800m at the 1976 Montreal Olympics only to be ruled out through injury. Zebo Junior's French heritage has dictated that interest from French Top14 clubs has never been difficult to come by.
Then again, it was 'contract season', a period in which even inevitabilities must be treated with a pinch of salt. Ultimately, Zebo would decide to extend his stay until 2018.
Today, however, he declared that he won't play out the rest of his career at Munster.
Speaking to Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh in The Times, Zebo was quite up front in admitting that, at some stage in his career, he will be playing rugby in France:
At some stage I will go, definitely. It’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.
It’s a different lifestyle, a different experience. Rugby is such a short career and I love Munster so much but at the same time, at some stage, I want to play in France. I could be 40 before I decide to go, you never know. It could even be Pro D2 [France’s second division] or whatever.
I love the lifestyle over there and playing rugby over there would be something I would like to experience.
The notion of a 40-year-old Zebo hot-stepping past an Aurillac defender is certainly less concerning than losing a prime Zebo prior to the 2019 World Cup, but that remains exceedingly unlikely. Still, when Zebo does extend his contract beyond Japan next year, its new end date will likely signal the end of his record-breaking spell at the southern province.
You can read Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh's full interview with Simon Zebo over on The Times.
