THREE SEASONS AFTER he found himself shunted down the Munster pecking order, Peter Stringer is chasing his third major European trophy with Bath.
The 36-year-old scrum-half has been selected ahead of Micky Young for Bath’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final with Wasps at Adams Park this Sunday. Stringer starts in the half back pairing with talented England out-half George Ford.
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Stringer has been with Bath since moving, on loan, in January 2013. His impressive form earned him a one-year deal last summer and, in March, he signed an additional one-year deal. Previous stints at Saracens and Newcastle followed the promotion of Conor Murray to first-choice Munster scrum-half.
Top 14-bound fullback Nick Abendanon gets the 15 jersey while Matt Banahan is named on the left wing for Bath. Gavin Henson must content himself with a place on the replacements’ bench. Wasps’ team features notables such as Tom Varndell, James Haskell and Joe Launchbury. The two teams will fight it out for a spot in next month’s final at Cardiff Arms Park. The tournament winner will claim the title won by Leinster last season.
The other semi-final features Northampton Saints, who failed to advance from Leinster’s Heineken Cup pool in January, and Harlequins. Conor O’Shea, Quins’ director of rugby, says his side are excited at the prospect of claiming their fourth Challenge Cup.
“We battled really hard, finished second in our pool in the Heineken Cup,” said O’Shea. “We did the double over Racing Métro, had two Titanic matches with Clermont, went to Scarlets and to Stade [Francais] and won. We’re doing it the hard way.
“The boys are loving getting out on the pitch and really playing for each other. There is a real buzz building. It’s a huge task to go to Franklin’s Gardens and win.”
*Saints host Harlequins at 8pm this evening while Bath visit Wasps for a 1pm kick-off on Sunday.
Former Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer targets European glory with Bath
THREE SEASONS AFTER he found himself shunted down the Munster pecking order, Peter Stringer is chasing his third major European trophy with Bath.
The 36-year-old scrum-half has been selected ahead of Micky Young for Bath’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final with Wasps at Adams Park this Sunday. Stringer starts in the half back pairing with talented England out-half George Ford.
Stringer has been with Bath since moving, on loan, in January 2013. His impressive form earned him a one-year deal last summer and, in March, he signed an additional one-year deal. Previous stints at Saracens and Newcastle followed the promotion of Conor Murray to first-choice Munster scrum-half.
Top 14-bound fullback Nick Abendanon gets the 15 jersey while Matt Banahan is named on the left wing for Bath. Gavin Henson must content himself with a place on the replacements’ bench. Wasps’ team features notables such as Tom Varndell, James Haskell and Joe Launchbury. The two teams will fight it out for a spot in next month’s final at Cardiff Arms Park. The tournament winner will claim the title won by Leinster last season.
The other semi-final features Northampton Saints, who failed to advance from Leinster’s Heineken Cup pool in January, and Harlequins. Conor O’Shea, Quins’ director of rugby, says his side are excited at the prospect of claiming their fourth Challenge Cup.
“We battled really hard, finished second in our pool in the Heineken Cup,” said O’Shea. “We did the double over Racing Métro, had two Titanic matches with Clermont, went to Scarlets and to Stade [Francais] and won. We’re doing it the hard way.
“The boys are loving getting out on the pitch and really playing for each other. There is a real buzz building. It’s a huge task to go to Franklin’s Gardens and win.”
*Saints host Harlequins at 8pm this evening while Bath visit Wasps for a 1pm kick-off on Sunday.
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