Stringer to bounce back with Reds

PETER STRINGER hopes to put a personally disappointing World Cup behind him by playing for Munster against the Ospreys on Sunday.

Stringer lost his scrum half place on the Irish squad and was relegated to number three choice in a shock move by coach Eddie O’Sullivan for the two last crucial games in Pool D.

But the Munster coach, Declan Kidney, in line with most observers, still appears to have faith in him and has moved him back into the fray a week earlier than planned. Stringer and Brian Carney, the winger/centre, are brought into an extended Munster squad of 26 players for Sunday’s game at the Liberty Stadium (4.10pm).

Stringer has the capacity to bounce back from that recent adversity.

Bracketed as being in the same mould as Australian number nine George Gregan, who lost the captaincy of the Wallabies a couple of years ago but who battled on to prove himself, Stringer’s argument for retention in the Irish team, or at the very least in the match-day squad of 22, has taken on overwhelming support in the last couple of weeks from rugby fans who have launched stinging attack’s on some of O’Sullivan’s World Cup decisions.

Last week, both Alan Quinlan and Frankie Sheahan, two more Munster fringe players in O’Sullivan’s squad, came back to join the former Heineken Cup champions as replacements in clash with the Cardiff Blues.

Meanwhile, Connacht have announced a 23-man squad ahead of their third successive away match in the Magners League, against the Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park tomorrow (kick off 7.30pm).

Gavin Duffy returns to the squad after World Cup duty, and that will be seen as a major boost, given that he was virtually wrapped in cotton wool throughout the recent and ongoing tournament.

But it’s not all good news; skipper Andrew Farley is still out through injury, while hooker Adrian Flavin, who has captained the side for the past two games, has also been ruled out with a cheekbone injury picked up in the game against Glasgow.

Connacht coach Michael Bradley will announce his side today.

Connacht squad: A Browne, M Deane, T Donnelly, G Duffy, P Durcan, J Fogarty, D Gannon, K Matthews, B McGovern, M McCarthy, C McPhillips, J Merrigan, R Morris, J Muldoon, J O’Connor, R Ofisa, C O’Loughlin, C Rigney, M Swift, O Treviranus, A Tuilevuka, B Wilkinson, A Wynne.

Munster Squad: Forwards: F Pucciariello, T Buckley, Darragh Hurley, D Fogarty, S Cronin, F Sheahan, M Melbourne, M O’Driscoll, B Holland, N Ronan, T O’Donnell, J Coughlan, A Quinlan, A Foley Backs: S Payne; I Dowling, K Lewis, K Earls, B Carney, L Mafi, R Tipoki, P Warwick, J Manning, T O’Leary, P Stringer, G Hurley.