Stringer completes loan move to Bath

Peter Stringer’s career with Munster looks to be over after he signed a short-term loan deal with Bath that could stretch to the end of the season when his current deal with his province runs out.

Stringer has signed an initial seven to eight-week deal with the Premiership club but it is believed the contract will be extended if situations in Munster and Bath remain the same. That would allow Stringer see out his contract with Munster which, under Irish tax laws, allow him claim a proportion of his tax back from 10 years of earnings.

The motive behind the move is believed to be the diminutive scrum-half’s lack of game time this year — but he could make a return to Munster colours if Rob Penney needs the Cork man’s services for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup.

However the New Zealander is likely to be preoccupied with news emerging from France that BJ Botha could sign for Toulon.

The cash rich club have made an offer to the South African and French newspaper L’Equipe yesterday reported the deal is believed to be very lucrative.

With IRFU rules restricting overseas signings for all four Irish provinces, the loss of Botha would be seen as catastrophic.

L’Equipe claims Toulon will bolster their options in the front row by moving for Botha as well as one of the most fearsome props in the European game, Leicester’s Martin Castrogiovanni.

The South African has been a huge part of the Munster front row since his arrival in 2011 and his loss would be a considerable one. Even though Munster are making huge strides by producing homegrown props in the mould of Stephen Archer and David Kilcoyne, Botha’s move to Toulon would leave the province short of front row options.

Meanwhile Connacht have boosted their squad for next season with Fionn Carr confirming his return to the province.

Carr was a crowd favourite at the Sportsground in his three years at the province where he established himself as Connacht’s all-time leading try scorer, with 34 tries.

He left the province in a high-profile move to Leinster in 2011 but failed to make an impact, with just 25 starts. However, yesterday he announced his delight in returning to Connacht on a two-year contract.

“I’m delighted to have re-signed for Connacht. I thoroughly enjoyed my three seasons there and I can’t wait to get back to the club and continue to improve my game,” he said.

“I can see that there is fantastic work being done at Connacht both on and off the field. I’m really looking forward to being part of that again and contributing to the growing success over the next couple of seasons.”