All In by Peter O’Mahony and Zeebs by Simon Zebo: An authentic account of a life in rugby, and a dose of cheery insouciance

All In

Author: Peter O’Mahony (with Dion Fanning)

ISBN-13: 978-1844886524

Publisher: Penguin Sandycove

Guideline Price: £25; 358pp

Zeebs

Author: Simon Zebo with Gerry Thornley

ISBN-13: 978-1804443798

Publisher: Eriu

Guideline Price: £22; 356pp

Rebellious and defiant, Peter O’Mahony shouted at referees and abused his Cork Con team-mates for not trying – aged nine. He must have been a nightmare on the pitch. Off the pitch also: door-slamming and stomping around at home was once part of the recommended Munster way of getting revved up before a Champions’ Cup game.

The transition from the savagery of that old-school Thomond Park dressing-room to the (somewhat) more civilised contemporary pre-match routines is just one fascinating aspect of O’Mahony’s engrossing and enlightening book.

Forthright and sweary (Fanning captures his tone perfectly), O’Mahony is nonetheless a bag of nerves before every team announcement, every kick-off. His cranky vulnerability is intriguing. O’Mahony admits his temper, and intolerance of those who didn’t measure up, were unacceptable, though he does change, thanks to a warning from Jerry Holland and advice from sports psychologist Caroline Currid.

He also learns from Paul O’Connell the importance as a captain of bringing players with you. O’Mahony’s remarkable record of skippering his school, Munster, Ireland and the Lions demonstrates his innate leadership skills. Deadly serious about the game, he lives on (and sometimes over) the edge of rugby’s laws, and is constantly looking for ways around them; in another life, he says, he might have been a defence barrister.

Unsurprisingly, he revels in the austere intensity – and successes – of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, though he values Andy Farrell’s natural authority and emotional intelligence highest of all. He’s enthusiastic about the support the Ireland administration provided, but less so about Munster’s “blazers”, some of whom bizarrely tell coach Johann van Graan that O’Mahony is “too influential” to be captain.

[ Peter O’Mahony: ‘There was stuff that I shouldn’t have done – the pressure I was putting on people’Opens in new window ]

Like others, he’s scathing about the province’s final contractual negotiations, but there’s a line he cannot cross: when an April Fool’s Day image appears of O’Mahony in a Leinster jersey, he says such a move would mean he couldn’t show his face in West Cork.

O’Mahony’s dark sense of humour is surely inherited from his beloved grandmother, who gave him his passion for gardening. When he visits her after the 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat, she doesn’t hold back: “Jesus, you made a complete bollocks of it again.” Whenever Granny Conroy talked, people listened, says O’Mahony; and the apple didn’t fall far from that tree.

[ Simon Zebo: Joe Schmidt’s double standards drove me mental, made me dislike the Irish campOpens in new window ]

A slightly exotic figure in 1990s Cork – where his Martinique-born father is mistaken for Paul McGrath – Simon Zebo had flair, skill and speed (his father qualified at 800m for the Montreal Olympics). He also learned how to unlock defences, pestering Doug Howlett for tips during training. A keen hurler and boxing aficionado, Zebo was the first black man to wear the green rugby jersey, although he only encounters racism professionally once, when playing in Ravenhill; Ulster later ban the culprit for life.

The swashbuckling exuberance with which he played comes through in this account of an illustrious career for Munster, Ireland and the Lions, including his starring role in Ireland’s first victory over the All Blacks in Chicago. The tone is generally upbeat, but what distinguishes Zebo from his contemporaries is his indignation over the perceived unfairness of his treatment by Schmidt.

Zebo always planned to play in France, and it’s interesting that his happiest times on and off the pitch were his years at Racing 92

His “cheeky chappy” persona was never likely to endear him to the Irish coach, who prized focus and attention to detail. However, Zebo’s admission, skilfully extracted by Thornley, that he didn’t like doing the “extras” (eg video analysis) and often coasted through training, is revealing, as is his acknowledgment that he wasn’t the best timekeeper and was “stuck in his ways”. In circumstances where he knew these things mattered, couldn’t he have tried harder – as others did – to conform to Schmidt’s admittedly demanding regime?

Zebo also complains that Schmidt would “make a show” of Munster, Ulster, and Connacht lads, but not the Leinster players, who knew how to behave around him. However, other Munster legends who’ve written about their time with Schmidt (including O’Mahony) make no suggestion of any provincial bias, and Zebo’s assertion that there was one rule for him and another rule for others comes across as slightly petulant.

[ Peter O’Mahony: ‘It is logical to have Ronan O’Gara as a candidate for the Leinster job’Opens in new window ]

It’s also far from certain that Zebo would have earned more caps under Farrell. Zebo always planned to play in France, and it’s interesting that his happiest times on and off the pitch were his years at Racing 92, where his freewheeling, instinctive approach was indulged by the coaching staff and enhanced by playing alongside some of the best backs in the world.

The cheery insouciance of Zeebs will appeal to some. However, O’Mahony’s visceral, compelling, and utterly authentic account of a life in rugby makes All In a must-read.

John O’Donnell is a writer and lawyer. His latest short story collection, Mr Hoo and Other Stories, is published by Doire Press.