The former Ireland scrum half looks ahead to the crucial opening match of the Six Nations and discusses Ireland’s chances of winning a third straight championship.
Peter Stringer believes whichever team loses the opening game of the Six Nations between Ireland and England will leave themselves a mountain to climb.
Ireland are the favourites in the Six Nations betting after lifting the trophy in each of the past two years, but they begin this year’s championship against the team that denied them a Grand Slam in 2024.
In our exclusive interview, Stringer also discusses who will start at No. 10 for Ireland, the impact of coach Andy Farrell’s absence and his own personal highlights of a career wearing the green jersey.
Who would you select as Ireland’s starting No.10 against England and why?
I suppose it’s the big debate of the moment, isn’t it? I’ve been super impressed with Jack Crowley, even if he had a few ups and downs in recent games. I love the way he’s recovered and how he has bounced back.
Behind a monster pack and a team that haven’t necessarily been performing, he showed real grit, determination and a strength of character to come back.
I suppose in trying to decide who you pick, I may go with Jack but I feel the Irish management will go for Sam Prendergast. That’s my gut feeling. It’s an amazing position that Ireland find themselves in, having two unbelievably talented players.
I think they’re trying to fast-track Sam in there, but Jack isn’t going away. I know the type of guy that he is.
They both have a role to play in the Six Nations and I’d be inclined to start Jack. That’s where I’d be and where my head is at in ensuring that you have two players of quality right through your campaign, and in the future for the next number of years.
So I’d probably go with Jack to start. We know we’ve seen glimpses of what Sam can do. I do think management may go with him, that’s just a gut feeling.
Would he like to see team selection shaken up a bit after the performances in November or is it a win at all costs championship?
If you look at the public perception and the media, it’s about mixing things up. Some look at an ageing squad. I was part of a team labelled as that.
I think Andy and his coaching staff have shown real commitment to what they’ve built, and they’ve stuck to it in selection. A number of these guys are in the twilight of their careers but Ireland’s November was a bit up and down. I think you look at the squad that they have, and I think you’ve got to back your players. You need experience – after all, you’ve got two championships back-to-back.
But I like the way they’re integrating some certain young guys into the squad. You’d like to see the likes of Ryan Baird getting a go. I think with Dan Sheehan coming back from injury, I think there’s a little bit of excitement there.
For me, it’s about what’s first up – winning this game against England, getting off to a good start and trying to rebuild a little bit of that confidence that they had in the Six Nations last year.
The performances in the Autumn were probably not where Ireland would have wanted them to be. But I think it would be an error to make a raft of changes to a squad at this stage. They’ve shown faith in the players. I think Ireland are in a good place, but obviously it’s a huge game against England.
Do Irish fans, pundits and media expect too much from this team?
I wouldn’t say they expect too much. The players themselves expect to be there or thereabouts when it comes to winning championships.
So I think when you have that internally within a squad, I don’t think there’s any added pressure from the public, or from the media, to perform any better or to achieve anything.
I suppose that comes to the bigger question around the World Cups when, as a nation, Ireland are expected to push on and I think we’ve never been out of a quarter final. But from a Six Nations perspective, I don’t think there’s any added pressure on the team to go and produce anything else because what they’ve done in recent times has been incredible.
Despite both teams struggling at times in the Autumn, is this the closest England have been to being considered favourites at the Aviva during Farrell’s reign?
I think on the back of the Autumn and some of Ireland’s performances, you could possibly say that. Ireland have been the dominant side going into this fixture in recent times.
They probably are still the favourites and, looking at their team selection, there were probably quite a few positions up for grabs. I think you would guess as to which way it was going to go.
There’s no doubt that this first game is so important. Ireland at home to England, it is never an easy one. Then you try and back it up against Scotland away, which we know in recent times is never easy. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, and looking back at the fixtures over the last number of years, this certainly is one of the games that will be closer than you would have seen in the past.
What kind of impact will Farrell’s absence have and what can we expect to change, if anything, under Simon Easterby?
Andy Farrell is a phenomenal guy and phenomenal coach. I know he’s a great rapport with the players. They have a huge amount of respect for him. I’ve no doubt he has laid down a marker for these guys.
He’s probably not with the players day-to-day at the moment, but his messages, his ethos, his whole attitude to the squad is firmly ingrained in what these guys do on a daily basis. I have a huge amount of respect for Simon Easterby as well. I played alongside him for a number of years. What a character, what a guy and what a leader.
He’s been there from the beginning right through playing to working alongside Joe Smith working with Andy. They have a good, good team, and it’s a very good management. What these guys will bring to the Six Nations campaign will be amazing.
I think it gives them a great opportunity to step out of that comfort-zone where you’re relying on Andy for certain decisions. But I think that will be the main challenge. Come the heat of the battle, you come 60 minutes into a game and you’re not looking to your left and seeing your coach there.
Will Simon Easterby keep Ireland firing? Will there be much difference in the way Ireland play and will Farell be pulling the strings?
I’m sure on the match day it’ll all be down to Simon. Andy will be watching from afar, but I think definitely there’ll be a debrief after the game in the build up to the next match. I’m sure he’ll have an input.
It will be interesting to see the philosophy if Simon does have that licence to bring in anything different from what they would have done in the Autumn games. I’d like to think that the guys would have that confidence to take things on board but the ability to call on Andy will be big – and he will have his messages being fed in during the weeks I’m sure.
I don’t think there’ll be a huge change in the way they play because they’ve had this structure under Andy for a number of years now, and I think the team has just come together. If you’re making any major changes to a style of play or a defensive system, you’re probably bringing on a lot of work for yourself as a new coach.
How big of a miss will Tadhg Furlong be vs England?
He will be a huge miss. He is such an ever-present and consistent performer for the national side, he’s one of the key guys and one of the cornerstones of the scrum.
He has the ability lifting in the line out, and when the line out has struggled in recent times, if you take him out you notice it. It reduces your chances of retaining the ball. You miss a lot – his work rate around the field, his ability to carry, his playmaking ability as well for a big guy, it’s not just in that scrum.
He’s a British and Irish lion, and he’ll be sorely missed. The English always pride themselves on a good, solid set piece. I’m sure they’ll be looking to attack. I think they’ll really look to target that.
How do you assess Ireland’s first two fixtures? England at home and then Scotland away.
It’s a massive opening game. But you look at Ireland’s record, especially at home – losing two of the last 20-odd games at home. It’s a great record. They have great pride in that.
But England are one of the teams who have beaten them, so it is set up for a fantastic opening weekend. I think the first two games are crucial. Momentum is everything in this competition. You lose that first one, and obviously the Grand Slam is gone.
You look at a championship where more often than not, the winners lose one game. So then you’ve got four games to win a championship. It puts you under pressure if you don’t win. Then, going to Murrayfield is never easy. There’s always a couple of big games in Scotland, even though they have their injury worries at the moment.
But it’s massive. I’ve been there a number of times before, you get off on a slow start and you’re asking for trouble. But I think that the thing that will stand Ireland in good stead again is the familiarity that they have coming into camp.
The bulk of the squad are from Leinster. There will be that cohesion that they will have. So hopefully it will stand to them because the start is everything.
What is the one thing you are looking forward to most about the Six Nations? Is it a competition which always shines such a positive light on rugby?
It’s the time of the year you can’t wait for, when they are all talking about rugby. Outside of a World Cup, it’s the best rugby competition in the world. It really is, in terms of the history that goes with it.
The different grounds, the atmosphere that’s created, the away travelling support. And again, it’s the feeling around it. It’s what the game is all about.
I can’t wait for it to begin. Ireland v England, first up, it’s always that game around St. Patrick’s Day. They brought it to the first game, kicking things off with a bang because it’s special. It’s about those moments.
Everyone knows Ireland have set the standard, and they’ve set a real level for their own performances over the last number of years. Going in with that mindset of being favourites, you’ve got to be ready – every team coming to Dublin is going to look to knock you off your perch.
Every team in this competition has the capacity to do it on their day and that’s the beauty of it. We want to get to a level where all six teams can beat anyone on a regular basis. And that’s what you want. You want competition in this tournament because that’s what makes it. You want to capture the imagination of new viewers to the game and by having a scenario where anyone can win.
Which players can break out and shine for Ireland during the tournament?
I suppose guys who wouldn’t have had much game time in an Irish jersey, so you look at the likes of Ryan Baird. I’ve seen him play for Leinster and what an athlete he is. He may get some opportunities over the campaign. I think he is a real dynamic player, bringing a whole new energy to that position in the back row.
I’m just delighted to see Dan Sheehan back as well. I just love seeing him play. You think of hookers in recent times and this guy brings it to a new level in terms of what he can do. He’s been out for six months with an ACL injury, and came back with two tries for Leinster. If he stays fit, he’s going to be a starter for the British and Irish Lions in my eyes. So to see him back in a green jersey is pretty great. If Sam Prendergast gets a run, which I’m sure he will in some games, it will be interesting to see what he can do.
It’s really exciting what Ireland have in terms of the youth coming through. I think we’ve got an established squad, but we’ve got guys waiting in the background, three positions deep. We’ve got quality guys ready to take that opportunity. It’d be an unbelievably exciting time of the year.
Who do you think will win this year’s Six Nations? Can Ireland make it an historic three in a row?
That’s the challenge. We’ve always identified the games that Ireland have at home and they will be very important, especially France. You look at a fixture list and say, ‘you know what, this can be a year that you do…. even a Grand Slam’.
You look at individual games and you say there’s no reason we can’t win those. I think if Ireland get off to a good start, I see them winning the championship. Obviously that French game is key as well. I think having France at home is an added plus – but come back to me after the England game! I am backing Ireland, but France is going to be a challenge as well. That’s the beauty of it. That’s what we want.
With it being 25 years of the Six Nations this year, do they have a standout moment over the years?
It’s 25 years this weekend since my debut. It seems like a lifetime ago. It’s incredible thinking back to it now, the moments we’ve had. And obviously back to England in Twickenham, in 2004, we won a Triple Crown. England were on the back of winning a World Cup and then going to Twickenham where I think they hadn’t lost in probably five years.
That was a big, big moment, a really special moment. Again, winning a Triple Crown in Dublin against Scotland was big. I suppose the Grand Slam in 2009, when it hadn’t been won in 60-odd years, was also huge.
You want to win silverware. That’s what it’s all about. And coming close never really cuts it when you’re a professional player. For me, 2009 has been the highlight in a green jersey.