Upbeat Simon Zebo wants to find Ireland groove at Munster

Simon Zebo hasn't given up on his Ireland ambitions and reckons the team’s current style of play would suit him down to the ground.

The 33-year-old Munster winger scored nine tries in 35 appearances for Ireland between 2012 and 2017 before his switch to Racing 92 put his international career on hold.

Then coach Joe Schmidt and Zebo never shared the same rugby philosophy but looking on from the outside as the likes of Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Hugo Keenan express themselves under Andy Farrell has been a source of encouragement.

While the New Zealander, who delivered three Six Nations titles in his tenure, operated a more structured game plan, Farrell has given players licence to play it as they see it.

"It’s very different now to what it was under Joe," a smiling Zebo tells RTÉ Sport.

"There are a lot of players expressing themselves more so and they probably have a little bit more freedom.

"That’s not to say that Joe’s [game plan] didn’t work, it’s just a different style.

"This style would probably have suited me more in international rugby."

Upon his return from Paris, Zebo earned a call-up to the squad ahead of the 2021 autumn internationals but didn’t see any game time.

He says he had good conversations with Farrell around that time and the plan was in place to get him back involved for the Six Nations in 2022 but it just never worked out.

Zebo was one of the Munster players stuck in South Africa in their ill-fated trip in November 2021 after testing positive for Covid-19.

"The Covid thing was the most frustrating thing," he said.

"Breaking my ribs [against Toulouse in the Champions Cup quarter-final in 2022] was another thing but the stuff that was out of my control was a bit frustrating.

"The chats [with Farrell] were just