Stringer treating each game as if it’s his last

CHRISTMAS is coming early for Irish rugby fans as another Southern hemisphere giant rolls into Lansdowne Road tomorrow.

These days, Ireland meet New Zealand, Australia and South Africa with a regularity that was usually reserved for our old Five Nations sparring partners and, while results may not always be to our liking, the spectacles are always relished.

Sixteen years ago, the All Blacks rumbled into town for the first game between the sides in 11 long years. One look at Willie Anderson eyeballing Wayne Shelford during the ‘haka’ that day was enough to indicate the Irish were unable to wait a single second longer for a shot at their illustrious visitors.