Irish leaders heap praise on Strings

Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll and coach Eddie O’Sullivan have united in stressing the value of Test veteran Peter Stringer to the Triple Crown winners.

Stringer won his 50th cap for Ireland last Saturday, but was given little opportunity to celebrate the landmark after coming off the bench against the United States.

But O’Driscoll and O’Sullivan have underlined Stringer’s importance to the team by showering the 26-year-old – a strong candidate for one of the scrum-half berths on next year’s Lions tour to New Zealand – with praise.

“It’s a huge honour to make 50 appearances for your country. It’s unfortunate for ‘Strings’ to have come off the bench for his 50th cap because it’s a proud moment to lead out the team,” said O’Driscoll.

“It did slip us by but was mentioned in the speeches after the game. ‘Strings’ can sometimes be a low-key player like that so it might be the way he wanted it to be. The fact he didn’t get to lead the team out is disappointing, but such is life.

“He’s been great for Ireland over the last 50 Tests and I’m sure there’s another 50 caps in him. He’s developed his game hugely, particularly in the last year.

“He took some stick for being one-dimensional and just having a passing game. But the way he’s played for Munster has shown he’s begun to mix the game up well and has taken some of the pressure off at fly-half with his box kicking.

“He’s developed a more rounded game. As a passer he’s one of the best in the world but it’s great to see him diversifying into other fields.”

O’Sullivan added: “Peter has become an important cog in the wheel. I think he’s a smashing player whose quick pass is perfect for getting our backline moving. But he has also developed his game and is now a more complete scrum-half.”

A glance at Ireland’s autumn Test fixture list would have left the impression that the opening match against South Africa was going to be the biggest obstacle between them and a clean sweep of victories.

But Argentina’s 24-14 triumph over France in the Grand Slam champions’ Marseille stronghold suggests the Pumas will be every bit as ferocious as the Springboks.

O’Driscoll said: “I’ve seen snippets of the match – the Pumas played an excellent spoiling game and they make it very hard to compete against them. The best way to describe it is it’s like playing 15 Alan Quinlans.

“Saturday is going to be a hugely physical game. If we win it, it could be the result of all three Tests this month – provided we also play well. We must play extremely well if we are to beat them.”