RUGBY: Gavin Cummiskey talks to Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer about facing an improving Scotland and his much-hyped counterpart behind their scrum.

He is the vital cog on the Irish team. No, he ain't the captain, he ain't got long flowing hair and he ain't six-foot-seven. Who? Well, he's tightly cropped up top and is a foot shorter than the second-rowers, but for four years now, and 52 caps, Peter Stringer has cast a long shadow.

He is the glue that binds backs to forwards. The fuel that keeps the engine motoring. Until recently, he was regularly criticised for excelling at this job.

Just like a player branded dirty early in his career, once a reputation belonging to Martin Johnson, Stringer struggled to shake off the stigma that he never snipes around the sides and as a result puts added pressure on his outhalf.

Ask around, though, and it's virtually unanimous that outhalfs like a crisp, regular supply line. As does the hottest back-line this side of the equator.

Look closely, though, over the last two seasons and a taste for close-in tries has been added to the Stringer repertoire. See the Triple Crown clincher against Scotland, or last week's lightning reflexes in Rome. Both back-breaking scores.

Granted, the number of challengers for his scrumhalf position is still limited, but, regardless of what comes through, Stringer's performance in Twickenham last year alone should ensure he wins another 30-plus caps. That day he added a Jason Robinson hand trip to the gem that denied Dan Luger a certain try at Lansdowne Road in 2001.

Still, comparisons must be made. Some kid called Chris Cusiter comes onto the radar screen this weekend. He is the latest big thing, the Lions scrumhalf-in-waiting, and the butter for Scottish bread. But Stringer doesn't take the initial bait on the Borders number nine.

"He is very dangerous around rucks and mauls," the Cork man says evenly. "We've analysed that, as we have every other player on the team.

"It's difficult, as you are not really up against each other, like a centre, you are kind of away from him. It's up to the fringe players around rucks and mauls to keep a eye on him."

Okay, fine, the back row will look after him, but won't there be a couple of occasions when the lack of experience can be exploited, say, at scrum time? "You try to be as disruptive as you can. It all depends on the angle of the scrum you get and whether the wheel is in your favour or not so you can get into position to compete."

Scotland's performance last weekend was a bit like Ireland's in the tentative Warren Gatland trial run in 1998, after Brian Aston returned to England. Very little was expected of them in Paris, but they ran out of fizz only in the home stretch. Yet the forwards' performance and solid defensive line showed the progress under Matt Williams and Willie Anderson.

"It's one of those fixtures that's a potential banana skin when you look at it. We've got to respect that they are playing really well at the minute. They will feel they could've won the match. At times they played much better rugby than France. Looking at it from that point of view, it is very dangerous going to Scotland. It is never easy, as their forwards are very good at disrupting lineout ball, they are very physical up front and their backs have improved tremendously in the last couple of seasons.

"The record at Murrayfield isn't great either, and the Scots always up their performance against us."

The record for this generation at Murrayfield is actually one and one: a hiding in 2001, returned with interest in 2003. A few similarities in both years are prevalent. A new centre pairing was exploited in 2001 but, significantly, Stringer was dropped for that ill-fated trip.

After a season and a half of efficiently clearing rucks, the time seemed ripe for Guy Easterby. Ireland's tanking saw Easterby earn all his caps since in Stringer's shadow.

The bottom line is the national team cannot do without this player. The Lions probably could, but with Matt Dawson and Harry Ellis playing musical chairs across the water and Dwayne Peel and Cusiter yet to fill the shoes of their predecessors, the continued, bullet-like supply line will, as ever, stand Peter Stringer in good stead.