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

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

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 the ...

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

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

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 Cl ...

, Bath,

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 n ...

and

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

. 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 les ...

. 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 King ...

on 3 October 1998, in an Irish Inter-Provincial Championship game. He made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

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 Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, which Leicester won 15–9. This game also involved the infamous 'Hand of Back' incident, in which

Neil Back Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ...

, 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. He was also Munster's scrum-half when they beat

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

to win the Celtic Cup in May 2005. Stringer played a key role for Munster during the

2005–06 Heineken Cup The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz ...

, helping the team reach their third final. Before the 2006 Heineken Cup Final, 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 scori ...

, 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 Tomás O'Leary (born 22 October 1983) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a scrum-half. O'Leary played most of his career in the United Rugby Championship with Munster, where he was part of the team that won the Heineken Cup ...

. He was on the bench for Munster's 16–13 win over

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

in the

2008 Heineken Cup Final The 2008 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup, the 13th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 24 May 2008 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The match was contested by Munst ...

, but did not come on. Stringer was part of the Munster team that won the 2008–09 Celtic League, and was on the bench when Munster won the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final, 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 Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park fr ...

. During the 2010–11 season, Stringer also became Munster's most capped player ever, overtaking the record previously held by

Alan Quinlan Alan Quinlan (''Irish: Ailín Ó Caoindealbhain'', born 13 July 1974) is a retired Irish rugby union player. He played for Munster and was registered to All-Ireland League side Shannon. He retired from rugby in May 2011. Early years 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

pool fixture against Ospreys 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 The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

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 Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

, 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 the c ...

as cover for injured first-choice scrum-half

Michael Claassens Michael Claassens (born 28 October 1982 in Kroonstad, Free State) is a former South African rugby union player that played professional rugby between 2003 and 2018. He made in excess of 350 senior appearances, including eight test matches for ...

. 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 Francois Hougaard (born 6 April 1988) is a South African professional rugby union rugby player. His primary position is scrum-half, but also can play on the wing. Club career Hougaard played for Western Province in 2007 before joining the Blu ...

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 the ...

in February in the 2000 Six Nations Championship. 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,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and 2007. Stringer, having lost his starting role to

Eoin Reddan Eoin Reddan (born Limerick, Ireland, 20 November 1980) is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He initially attended the Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood, before moving school to Crescent College Comprehensive where he ...

, played in three of Ireland's five matches in the 2008 Six Nations 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 The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national t ...

. 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 James Peter Richard Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish rugby union former player who played for Leinster and Ireland. He played as a number 8. Heaslip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, makin ...

, 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 2 ...

squad, but played only in the first two pool games, before being replaced by

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 Af ...

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 The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby uni ...

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 b ...

on 19 March.

Barbarians

On 12 August 2000, Stringer played for the

against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was invited to play for the side again, this time playing against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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