‘Confident’ Jacob Stockdale glad to hit the ground running as Ulster face key URC clash with Benetton

With 49 minutes gone in the Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series win over Fiji, Jacob Stockdale, looking more and more like his old self in the green number 11 jersey, glided round Fiji captain Waisea Nayacalevu. Ponipate Loganimasihas came in off his wing to help, but Stockdale was gone. Unfortunately for the Ireland winger, so had his hamstring.

He managed to offload to Ciaran Frawley but anyone with a sharp eye on the big screen at the Aviva Stadium or the television replay at home could tell something was wrong.

The man in the green number 11 jersey knew it too.

“There are some where you’re standing and you’ll go ‘that’s a bit sore’ and there are some where you feel them ping and that was one where I felt it ping,” said Stockdale of the injury that kept him off the pitch for the guts of three months, until Ulster’s friendly against the Queensland Reds last week.

“I remember at the time that I felt it go then I tried to take another step and – nah.

“It was kind of, immediately, ‘ah flip, not again’.”

The voice of experience. But all the same, Stockdale is phlegmatic about it – “massively disappointing, but part of the sport” – more phlegmatic than a man who has suffered more than his fair share of injuries should be expected to be.

The worst was the one that required ankle surgery and kept him out of rugby for nearly 12 months between 2021 and 2022.

One of the consequences of his absence was falling out of Ireland favour, with just two appearances in a pair of 2023 World Cup warm-ups between his injury and making his return against Fiji off the back of superb Ulster form.

With the most metres made and defenders beaten in the United Rugby Championship across the five rounds of fixtures he played before heading off on international duty, Stockdale was flying.

All things considered, the injury setback could hardly have come at a worse time. But Stockdale says he will still file that November day under the best of times, thanks to the presence of his wife Hannah and young daughters Phoebe and Bonnie.

“It was obviously really frustrating and disappointing but I kind of look back that that Fiji game with fond memories,” he said.

“It was my first taste of international rugby again in the while and to be able to, I thought, perform well was encouraging.

“And having my family on the pitch afterwards was something that when we first had kids I’d kind of dreamt about being able to do, and to be able to do that with both the girls and Hannah was class. It was disappointing the way it ended but, ultimately, it was it was really enjoyable.”

Stockdale enjoyed the run-out against the visiting Reds too, scoring a first-half try, and Ulster will be desperate for him to pick up where he left off in the URC when they face Benetton in Treviso on Saturday.

“It can be difficult to jump straight back into the form that you were in before. But when I was out there at the weekend I kind of felt like I hadn’t been away, which is I suppose as good a comeback as you can possibly hope for in that sense,” he said.

“Maybe the lungs were burning a wee bit more than they were 12 weeks ago, but I’m feeling good and feeling confident.”

After an abysmal display in the 15-14 home defeat to Zebre, Ulster go to Italy just outside the top-eight play-off spots, level on points with Saturday’s opponents.

Stockdale will line out on the left wing, with fellow Ireland internationals Stuart McCloskey and James Hume also back after injury following appearances against the Reds. It will be Hume’s first competitive Ulster start since sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury against Cardiff last April.

Up front, Academy loosehead Jacob Boyd will make his Ulster senior debut alongside two more Irish internationals – hooker Rob Herring and tighthead Tom O’Toole, who is back after serving a six-match suspension for his red card against Munster in December. Cormac Izuchukwu has also been released from Ireland duty and starts in the second row.