Age is honourable for Peter

PETER STRINGER will have turned 34 when his current contract with Munster ends in June of 2012: it’s an age when most rugby players would be thinking of retirement, but Ireland’s record-breaking scrum-half has no notion of calling it a day any time soon.

The durable number nine has clearly benefited from a largely injury-free career spanning 13 seasons and wants to go on for at least another three years. “I haven’t really thought about retiring but I am keen to go on, to play wherever the opportunity lies because I feel fresh and figure I still have plenty to offer.”

Whether that opportunity comes from Munster remains to be seen, but Munster and Ireland have reaped the benefit of Stringer’s ability and form this season; in his case, age would really appear to be just a number.

Stringer is the guy the fans love to love; his speed of pass, organisational skills and bravery are just some of his many attributes.

At a time when huge New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu was sending defenders flying, Stringer had to audacity to deny him a try against Ireland with a magnificently timed hand trip. In key Six Nations games against old rivals England, Jason Robinson and Dan Luger hit the dirt in the very same manner giving the diminutive Irishman almost the right to the trademark.

The hand trip he has perfected is just one of his defensive weapons. He admits that one of the first things he did as a kid was to learn how to tackle properly. It was out of absolute necessity.

“When I first started playing rugby I was the smallest guy; I still am the smallest guy so when I was learning the game at seven years-old I had no option but to take guys down low and had to learn my technique that way. I’ve had enough time to understand what I need to do to take people down.”

His ankle tap technique is less calculated, but the end result, when it comes off, is just as pleasing: “It’s not something I’ve practised, it’s really a last-ditch effort to bring a fella down; but, I suppose, I’ve got a lot of guys over the years. The tackle on Luger was probably a match-winning tackle, England were going for the Grand Slam at Lansdowne and thankfully it came off. I suppose, yeah, it can be a useful technique.”

The years have rolled by and each one has brought new challenges. From the time when selection for both Munster and Ireland were automatic, Stringer has had to meet one challenge after another to his reign at the top.

It is significant that although Tomás O’Leary and Eoin Reddan threw down the gauntlet, Stringer wasn’t cast aside by either Munster or Ireland and continues to steadily add to his list of appearances (212 for Munster and 98 for Ireland at last count).

He has come to terms with not always being first choice, as he explains: “Being dropped initially was a massive, massive, blow; you never get used to it, and when it happens first you feel everyone else should be feeling the shock. But they don’t, it happens all the time to lots of players so you have to realise that you’re not in that position on your own.

“It’s a matter of dealing with it, not accepting that it is the end and not giving into it. That is what has driven me over the last three years when I’ve been in and out of things, being selected, not being selected; I suppose there is a change of focus from the early part of my career but it has pushed me to try to improve every single aspect of my game to get back to where I want to be.”

Right now, he feels Munster are where they want to be, about to enter a programme of matches that could yield two more big trophies. The Amlin Challenge Cup doesn’t quite have the same aura as the Heineken Cup, the Magners League is most certainly a grade below Europe. But Stringer won’t much care if he can add two medals to his trophy cabinet.

He sees tomorrow’s Amlin semi-final against Harlequins as a huge task and an even bigger opportunity. “Looking at the teams left in the Amlin Cup (Stade Francais play Clermont Auvergne in the second semi final), it’s surely going to be a tough two games for the teams who get to the final.

“Harlequins are going pretty well and they’ll put it up to us by bringing a massively intense game. But that’s what we want, we want to be challenged, it’s what brings the best out of guys, it’s what gets the supporters going.

“The rest of the season is all about cup rugby, it’s all about winning and there will be no second chances.”