Stringer relishing 'massive occasion'

Ireland will need little or no motivating for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations finale at Twickenham, according to Peter Stringer.

A third successive Irish victory over England will clinch their second Triple Crown in three years and, with help from Wales, could bring them their first outright championship since 1985.

But scrum-half Stringer insists that simply playing England is incentive enough on its own, especially on St Patrick’s Day weekend.

“It’s always a massive occasion and it’s teed up this time with a Triple Crown at stake,” he said.

“Because they are one of the top sides in the world and we have a great respect for them as a rugby nation, it is much sweeter to pull off a victory against them, especially at Twickenham.

“It’s Paddy’s weekend so there are certainly going to be a lot of Irish supporters over there. It’s set up nicely, this is what you play rugby for.”

Twickenham no longer holds any fear for Ireland after their triumph there two years ago and Stringer believes the consistently impressive performances of Munster and Leinster in the Heineken Cup have removed once and for all any inferiority complex.

“The guys are playing at a high level of competition every week in the build-up to the Six Nations against French and English teams who are at the top of their respective leagues,” he said.

“It gives you confidence that you can go to these places and come away with victories.

“That victory for us at Twickenham two years ago was massive. We fully believed we could win there and the nucleus of the side is still there.”

Stringer will win his 66th cap on Saturday as part of an Irish back line boasting no fewer than 293 international appearances.

But captain Brian O’Driscoll singles out the team’s trio of newcomers for particular praise.

Hooker Jerry Flannery, virtually unknown at the start of the season, his Munster team-mate Denis Leamy and Ulster wing Andrew Trimble have all seized their opportunities as part of coach Eddie O’Sullivan’s re-building process.

“They have been the star performers week in week out,” said O’Driscoll. “Jerry has been fantastic, Denis had an awesome game last weekend and is getting better with each game and Andrew has taken his chance really well.

“It’s fantastic that new guys are showing the way for some of the older heads.”

Stringer is a former college team-mate of Flannery and believes the Shannon hooker has had a galvanising effect on the whole team.

“He works incredibly hard on his game,” he said. “Being able to bring a little bit of fire into the team gives the guys around him a lift.

“The nucleus of the squad has always been there but it’s pleasing to see that new guys can come in.

“We had a bit of a transition in the autumn and probably things didn’t go as well as we hoped but they have gone really well in the Six Nations, bar the French game.”

While O’Sullivan is delighted to name an unchanged team for the Triple Crown decider, England coach Andy Robinson has rung the changes following his side’s debacle in Paris.

And Stringer is looking forward to renewing his scrum-half duel with Leicester’s Harry Ellis, an equally pugnacious character.

“Harry has been playing most of the campaign,” he said. “He’s a very fiery guy.

“I’ve played against him a few times and I get on quite well with him. He’s a serious threat on the fringes.

“They have brought in a few different combinations after the defeat in Paris and they will be looking to make a point.”