Stringer’s World Cup hopes all but ended
The Munster scrum-half has been named in the province’s squad to face Wasps at Musgrave Park tomorrow, which means he will play no part in the national side’s games against Connacht today and France on Saturday.
The final squad will be named on Monday.
Stringer has won three Triple Crowns and a Grand Slam with his country in a career spanning 10 years and 98 caps, the last earned with a 14-minute cameo against South Africa in November.
Declan Kidney included five number nines in his provisional squad but the man who was first-choice for the 2003 and 2007 competitions has not been afforded any game time and was also released for Munster duties last week.
Kidney refused to rule the experienced Cork man out of the equation last night but it will now certainly be three from Tomás O’Leary, Eoin Reddan, Isaac Boss and Conor Murray who will be named in the touring party next week.
O’Leary will start Saturday’s game against France at the Aviva Stadium while Reddan sits on the bench.
Boss starts against Connacht with Murray hoping for another chance to impress in the second wave.
Kidney must shave his options to just 30 for Monday’s squad deadline. Forty-four players will be involved between today and Saturday while injuries have restricted Tommy Bowe and Rob Kearney to watching briefs for now.
“It’s strange at the moment,” said O’Driscoll yesterday. “Because the two squads are working off slightly different itineraries there is different sort of interaction. It’s a different place with this squad to previous years, for the most part. You would have been pretty sure what 29, 30 might have been before. People will look at the squad and see the people left out and think ‘janey, some really good players have been left out’.
“That’s testament to the squad’s development and to the attitude of the guys.”
O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy make their first appearances of the season from the off against France as Kidney edges further towards the line-up that will be expected to face Australia in the crucial Pool 3 game in Auckland next month.
Both have been held back by injuries thus far and the captain, who has talked before about his need to play three or four games before finding his stride, is eager to chip in after the defeats in Edinburgh and Bordeaux.
O’Driscoll: “It’s great to be back. It’s always difficult sitting out any test matches. It’s a double-edged sword whether the team is going well and not missing you or, when it is not winning, you feel you can give them a dig out.
“It’s a special occasion and good to be back.”
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