Watch as Irish rugby legend Peter Stringer links up with global sporting icon in exotic location

LIKE KEANU REEVES in Point Break, Irish rugby legend Peter Stringer found his eyes opened to the wonders of surfing in California.

And there’s literally no better man to fill Patrick Swayze’s guru role than Kelly Slater – widely regarded as the greatest female surfer of all time.

Stringer shared the above footage from the time he met Slater (on land, at least) while visiting the US West Coast.

The wave simulator gives the 11-time World Surf League Champion the chance to show off all his skills while effortlessly stroking the water.

Stringer captioned the video, “A real privilege to spend some time with the legend Kelly Slater.”

“51 years young and still at the highest level.”

“DISCLAIMER – That’s Kelly Slater surfing, not me!”

Like the Munster star, the Florida native has maintained excellent physical condition despite his advanced age.

The 45-year-old Stringer is sometimes unfairly portrayed as boring because he has a total habit well into his mid-40s that has helped him stay fit.

But he is actually one of the most amusing Irish sports stars to follow on social media as he is quick to poke fun at himself.

PICTURES HIM

For example, when the famous picture of him and his lookalike brothers (and his father) surfaced again in April, he shared an altered version with his face photoshopped onto all of the other Stringer men.

He then joked, “This photo resurfaced recently…I personally see no resemblance (shrug emoji).”

But even if you look at the original photo, you may have to forego identifying the former half of the scrum.

It’s been making the rounds on Irish Twitter since the April Fools’ Day joke.

Rugby referee Audrey initially shared it, joking: “All I remember is that Peter Stringer’s brothers look more like Peter Stringer than Peter Stringer.”

It caught fire from there, garnering over 6,000 likes and nearly 200 replies in the days that followed.

One of the best quipped, “That’s why he’s had such a long career, there were four of them.”

Meanwhile, someone else posted a parody of Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady asking, “Will the real Peter Stringer please get up, please get up, please get up?”

Finally, another user commented, “Like Pokémon evolutions by Peter Stringer.”

Aside from dancing with the stars, Peter has kept a low profile since retiring for good in 2018.

However, he appears sporadically on RTE as an expert on URC games.

Speaking of harrowing photos with him, the man himself shared a jewel in March 2021 after Craig Casey made his Ireland debut.

He congratulated the heir to the throne for being a strikingly small fellow in a sport full of giants and posted a memoir of him holding Casey during his childhood.

He captioned it: “Congratulations Craig Casey on your Irish debut yesterday. The first of many international matches. Note: Photo was taken before lockdown.”