No matter what he does in his career, Jacob Stockdale’s form will always be compared to the year of 2018.
After breaking into the Ireland squad under the then watchful eye of Kiwi Joe Schmidt, Stockdale took the Six Nations by storm.
His seven tries in five matches helped Ireland to what was then, a third ever Grand Slam. He also picked up the Player of the Tournament gong and later in the year his fabulous individual try sealed Ireland’s first ever home win over New Zealand.
Injuries then struck and this was followed by a loss in form. It wasn’t long before Stockdale found himself frozen out of Ireland and Ulster squads.
But with the former Wallace High School pupil having somewhat of a renaissance this season, don’t be surprised if Stockdale sees more than his fair share in the green of Ireland this autumn.
After claiming a his second and third tries of the season and also the Player of the Match award from Ulster’s 36-12 win over the Ospreys on Friday night, Stockdale appears to be enjoying his rugby once more, but isn’t sure if he is truly back to the form of six years ago.
“It’s kind of hard to say as everyone regards my best form at 2018,” said Stockdale.
“I think that was six years ago now. I’m a very different player to the player I was back then. I’ve different strengths and different weaknesses than I did back then. It’s kind of hard to compare the two but I think I’m in great form at the moment.
“I’m feeling really confident on the ball. I’m feel fit, fast and strong. That’s as much as I am reading into it and I’m enjoying my rugby.”
Stockdale also feels that he has grown as a person over time and he has also seen his role within the dressing room change.
“I’m married with two kids now and I think how I interact with guys in the squad is very different from how I used to do it. I think, like anybody does, you grow between the ages of 22 and 28 and I’m hoping that I continue to keep growing.”
Even in the recent defeat to the Bulls in South Africa, Stockdale showed then that he was edging back to those dizzy heights of 2018.
Collecting Aidan Morgan’s kick-pass on the wing, Stockdale won the race to touch down the ball from his own chip kick. It was a try of sheer brilliance and again, demonstrates that when you make things happen, the rub of the green can fall your way.
“Making those big plays and feeling like you can go after, pushing the boat out a wee bit in terms of risky plays and stuff, you know, scoring those kind of tries gives you the confidence to be able to do that.
“You know confidence is nine-tenths of performance. It was a great try to score and it gave me a great springboard into the next couple of games.
