Peter Alexander Stringer (born 13 December 1977) is an Irish former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who played at scrum-half. He played 13 seasons with Irish province

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

from 1998 to 2011; he then played seven seasons from 2011 to 2018 in England with various teams —

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football C ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

and

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

. Internationally, Stringer represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

. He announced his retirement from rugby in June 2018.

Club career

Munster

Stringer made his Munster debut against

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

on 3 October 1998, in an Irish Inter-Provincial Championship game. He made his Heineken Cup debut for Munster against

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

on 10 October 1998. Stringer was Munster's first-choice scrum-half for the 2000 Heineken Cup Final against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

, a game which Munster lost 8–9. Stringer was again at scrum-half for Munster in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers, which Leicester won 15–9. This game also involved the infamous 'Hand of Back' incident, in which Neil Back, the Leicester flanker, knocked the ball out of Stringer's hands during his put-in to a Munster scrum near the Leicester try-line, ultimately denying Munster any chance of a comebac

Stringer's first silverware with Munster came in February 2003, when they secured the

2002–03 Celtic League The 2002–03 Celtic League was the second season of the Celtic League, a rugby union tournament involving teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Teams Pool stage The teams were split into two pools and the pool stage consisted of a singl ...

. He was also Munster's scrum-half when they beat Llanelli Scarlets to win the Celtic Cup in May 2005. Stringer played a key role for Munster during the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, helping the team reach their third final. Before the

2006 Heineken Cup Final The 2006 Heineken Cup Final was a rugby union match played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on 20 May 2006, to determine the winners of the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition. The match was contested by ...

, Stringer was criticised for not scoring enough tries. During the final, he saw that Biarritz's scrum-half,

Dimitri Yachvili Dimitri Yachvili Markarian (born 19 September 1980, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scor ...

, was out of position, and Stringer quickly scored Munster's second tr

helping to secure a 23–19 win, and Munster's first European Cup. During the 2007–08 Heineken Cup, Stringer lost his place in the Munster team to Tomás O'Leary. He was on the bench for Munster's 16–13 win over

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

in the 2008 Heineken Cup Final, but did not come on. Stringer was part of the Munster team that won the

2008–09 Celtic League The 2008–09 Celtic League (known as the 2008–09 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth Celtic League season and the third with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2008 and ended in May 2009. Ten teams played ...

, and was on the bench when Munster won the

2011 Celtic League Grand Final The 2010-11 Celtic League Grand Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Celtic League season. The final was won by Munster who defeated Leinster by 19–9 at Thomond Park to claim their third Celtic League title. Background and Build Up 2010 ...

, beating rivals and newly crowned Heineken Cup Champions

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

19–9 in Thomond Park. During the 2010–11 season, Stringer also became Munster's most capped player ever, overtaking the record previously held by Alan Quinlan. He achieved the feat when he came on as a substitute in Munster's Celtic League victory against Leinster on 2 April 2011. On 27 March 2012, while still on loan with Newcastle, Stringer signed a deal to extend his Munster contract by one year.

Loan to Saracens

On 3 December 2011, it was announced that Stringer would join Aviva Premiership side

on a three-month loan. He officially joined up with Saracens on 5 December 2011. He made his debut for Saracens in their Heineken Cup pool fixture against

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

on 10 December 2011. Stringer made his first appearance in the Aviva Premiership for Saracens against Harlequins on 27 December 2011. He scored his first try for the club in the Anglo-Welsh Cup game against

on 29 January 2012. Stringer's last game for Saracens was against

on 4 March 2012.

Loan to Newcastle

Munster confirmed on 23 February 2012 that Stringer would join another Aviva Premiership side,

, on loan immediately after the conclusion of his loan at Saracens, and would be there until the end of the 2011–12 season. He joined up with the club officially on 13 March 2012. Stringer made his debut for Newcastle on 23 March 2012, against

in the Aviva Premiership. He scored his first try for Newcastle in his last game for the club, during the relegation-decider against London Wasps, which Newcastle won 14–10.

Bath

It was announced on 21 January 2013 that Stringer would return to the Aviva Premiership for a third time, this time on loan with

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in th ...

as cover for injured first-choice scrum-half Michael Claassens. He scored two tries on his debut with Bath. Stringer agreed an extension to his loan deal with Bath in March 2013, which saw him stay with the side until the end of the 2012–13 season. It was announced on 9 April 2013 that Stringer had signed a one-year contract with Bath, which saw him join the club as a full-time player from the 2013–14 season. Stringer signed a new one-year contract with Bath in March 2014.

Sale Sharks

On 19 May 2015, it was announced Stringer had signed a one-year deal with

. In February 2016, Stringer signed a one-year contract extension with Sale. In April 2016, Stringer was named the Sale Sharks Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Sale announced that Stringer would be leaving the club, while Stringer himself declared his intention to continue playing professional rugby.

Worcester Warriors

On 20 July 2017,

announced that they had signed Stringer on a six-month contract to cover Francois Hougaard while he is on international duty. The contract meant Stringer would be playing professional rugby as a 40-year-old and would join his longtime Munster and Ireland teammate

Donncha O'Callaghan Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired rugby union player. He spent most of his career with his home province Munster, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with ...

at the club.

International career

Ireland

Stringer debuted for

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in February in the

2000 Six Nations Championship The 2000 Six Nations Championship was the first series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, following the addition of Italy to the Five Nations. It was the 106th season of the championship overall. The title was won by England. England won ...

. Between then and 2006, he appeared in 76 out of Ireland's 85 matches. Stringer quickly became known for his ability to take down larger players, especially with one handed "Ankle taps

and game changing moments. Stringer was part of the Ireland teams that won the Six Nations Triple Crown (rugby union), Triple Crown in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, 2006, and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. Stringer, having lost his starting role to Eoin Reddan, played in three of Ireland's five matches in the

2008 Six Nations The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

coming off the bench as a substitute in each one. On 14 March 2009, Stringer put in a Man-of-the-Match performance for Ireland against

during the 2009 Six Nations Championship. Losing 12–9 at half-time in

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

, Stringer made a break and passed to Jamie Heaslip, who scored a match-turning try that eventually saw Ireland win 15–22. A week later, Stringer came off the bench during Ireland's final 2009 Six Nations game against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In the dying minutes of the game, Stringer passed the ball from a ruck to

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

, who then scored the drop-goal that won Ireland's first Grand Slam since 1948. Stringer was selected in Ireland's squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

, and played in all five of Ireland's games at the tournament. He was also in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

squad, but played only in the first two pool games, before being replaced by Eoin Reddan took over the starting scrum-half role for Ireland for the remainder of the tournament. Stringer was included in Ireland's squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

warm-ups in August, but did not feature in any of the warm-up tests and was not selected in the final 30-man squad for the World Cup in New Zealand, as Murray, Reddan, and Boss were Ireland's scrum-halves selected. His last matches for Ireland came in the 2011 Six Nations Championship where he came off the bench as a substitute behind Reddan; Stringer's last match in a 24–8 win against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 19 March.

Barbarians

On 12 August 2000, Stringer played for the

against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. He was invited to play for the side again, this time playing against Australia on 26 November 2011.

Personal life

Stringer married Debbie O’Leary in the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Church in Plaza de la Iglesia in the old town of Marbella, Spain, on 9 June 2015. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Noah, in April 2017. The couple's second son, Oscar, was born in March 2020.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 5 July 2017Peter Stringer
''ESPN Scrum'', 5 July 2017