Stairway to heaven

Munster scrum half Peter Stringer is faced with a new challenge today in the shape of Gregory Mahe — but his level-headed attitude will help him cope, reports Barry Coughlan.

BY seven o'clock tonight, Peter Stringer may be toasting another Heineken Cup scalp at Thomond Park but the intoxication of success is the only thing he'll be getting dizzy on.

Stringer is one of the new breed who contradict the notion that rugby players are beer swilling, overgrown school-children who engage in raucous after-match parties.

"It's something that evolved. I never made a conscious decision not to drink. When I was younger and even smaller than I am now, drinking was hardly an option. There were times when I couldn't get into places where my friends were going even though I was the legal age. I suppose I looked a couple of years younger than they did.

"My priority was always to be as fit as humanly possible and as things progressed in terms of my career, the temptation to drink became less and less of an option. I got a bit of slagging at the start but gradually my buddies came to respect me for making that decision."

It has hardly damaged Stringer's position in the popularity stakes and, when Munster or Irish teams decide to have a bit of fun, the diminutive scrum half is usually in the thick of the action.

When things get tough on the field of play, he could hardly be accused of standing back either as hand-trip victims Dan Luger and Jason Robinson and a host of others for different reasons would testify to.

Stringer has a single-minded approach to the game; loves to win and hates to lose. This approach allied to a huge level of skill has helped propel him to the forefront of world rugby.

But his feet are firmly on the ground. Always available to sign autographs and chat with the fans, the younger ones particularly, he retains a sense of perspective and has kept up friendships from school and college.

"I have a lot of mates from school and from UCC whom I have held onto. It's not that I don't get on with my Munster and Irish colleagues, but when you're away for so long staying in hotels and surrounded by team-mates, you do need to have an escape valve.

"It's important at times to have new faces and be able to relax your mind in an un-pressurised situation. When I have free time, we don't talk much about rugby amongst ourselves."

Realising that his career cannot last for ever, Stringer revels in meeting the fans. "Sometimes you need a bit of space but I enjoy it when people come up and congratulate me, wish me the best and all of that.

"Even when I'm walking through town or out doing shopping, people want to chat. There are times when you would like to be left in peace but it's all part of what I'm doing and, overall, I really enjoy meeting and talking with people."

The life of a professional sports person may sound wildly attractive but there are down sides as well, and Stringer admitted to suffering a certain degree of boredom during Ireland's recent Six Nations Championship and Triple Crown run.

"The outcome, of course, was brilliant. It always makes it easier when you're winning, but being isolated in hotels for so long does become a bit of a chore.

"Even though you train twice most days and that's the good part it's sometimes hard to fill in your time. Everyone will tell you the routine of hotel living, the sense of isolation can be tough. You're scratching for things to do outside of the actual working part of the day. It's good to get back to normality, to a different routine and a few home cooked meals."

As Munster prepare for this afternoon, Stringer is relieved that he will be partnered yet again by Ronan O'Gara.

"It's good that he has come through his recent injury. Obviously, it's great to play with a guy of his quality and the fact we have been together for so long makes it easier for both of us."

But their partnership isn't all sweetness and roses. "We have an occasional go at one another if things aren't right but that's a healthy thing. There is a great atmosphere in the Munster squad but people are just as quick to criticise as praise. That's the way it should be and people have to be able to take criticism as well as praise."

THE scrum half is cautious but confident as his side face the might of star-studded Stade Francais.

"We have played them on a number of occasions, come up against many of their players at international level as well. But we're confident in our own ability as well. They're a typical French side with a big strong pack and they will look to move the ball as often as possible.

"One thing we have to be aware of is that they have players who can do things off the cuff. We've got to be on our toes for 80 minutes and there can be no standing back, no relaxing.

"Even though we've done a lot of analysis, they will obviously throw something in that we haven't seen already. In the semi-final over in Lille three years ago they came up with a move that we hadn't seen before and scored their try off it.

"People keep on saying that this has to be the year; this is the last chance but we don't look at it like that. It's a completely new competition and nothing that happened in the past has any bearing on how we're going to do this year.

"We've got the squad capable of producing the goods but we know that we have to be at our best to do so. There will be no complacency about playing at Thomond Park. Everyone knows that we have to work really hard and play to the best of our ability in every game.

"That becomes paramount now that we're in the knock-out stages, because if we make one slip we're gone. It's as simple as that."