Ireland's forgotten man eyes first cap in 14 months after finding form

For Jacob Stockdale, the dream is to pull on the green jersey of Ireland once again and he couldn’t be doing much more to stake his claim.

The Ulster winger has made more metres (317) and beaten more defenders (25) than any other player in the league after the opening five rounds of the BKT URC, while he’s also scored a couple of sensational tries.

Against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, he struck from inside his own half, going outside Kurt-Lee Arendse and collecting his own chip over the top on the bounce in trademark fashion to touch down.

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Then, in last weekend’s victory over the Ospreys, he delivered arguably an even better finish as he rode the tackle of Keelan Giles and managed to get the ball down one-handed in the corner while keeping his legs in the air out of the field of play.

It was an extraordinary effort and further proof that he is getting back to the kind of form that made him the Player of the 2018 Six Nations.

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The question now is whether it will be enough to get him back in the Ireland team.

He hasn’t played for his country since winning his 37th cap in the World Cup warm-up match against Samoa some 14 months ago.

The man born in County Tyrone was named in the squads for this year’s Six Nations and the tour of South Africa, but didn’t get on the field in either campaign.

Given his current form, he’s odds on to be included in Andy Farrell’s party for the autumn internationals against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia and you would imagine he must have a strong chance of finally achieving his goal of returning to the Test arena.

“My big personal ambition for the season is getting back in the green jersey more,” said the 28-year-old.

“I’ve only played a couple of games in the last three or four years and I’d like to see that number increase by a few.

“I’m not putting too much pressure on myself because there’s a lot of things I can’t control in regards to that, but I’m just making sure I’m playing the best I possibly can to put those things in my favour.

“It does definitely get frustrating at times, but that’s what professional rugby is all about. There’s times when other lads are playing better than you, there are times when the team is doing well and doing poorly. For the last while, the Ireland team has been doing very well and when teams are winning it’s hard to push your way into that.

“It’s one of those things you just have to bide your time with. You go away and play the best you can and hope that’s enough.

“I’ve always been encouraged by the fact that while I’m not playing games, I’m still being selected for squads. That’s a real vote of confidence in me as a player.

“Now, equally, I’d very much like to get on the pitch a lot more. It’s always a goal for me.

“I’m doing everything I can to warrant getting an opportunity. I feel like I’m going well at the moment and putting in good performances. I feel fit and fast and strong and I’m enjoying my rugby.

“So, hopefully, I do get to pull that green jersey on again and just take that chance.”

Stockdale believes he has grown both as a player and a person since scoring a record seven tries in the 2018 Six Nations.

“I’m a very different player to the player I was back then. I’ve different strengths and different weaknesses,” he says.

“About a year ago, I decided to focus on stuff I was good at and really go after that. I’d got away from that, I think.

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“Obviously, you still have to train the stuff you’re not great at so they’re not weaknesses, but focusing on the things that might stand me apart from another winger is something I’ve been going after and I think it’s paid dividends for me.”

He added: “I’m married with two kids now and how I interact with guys in the squad is very different to how I used to do it.

“I think, like everybody does, you grow between the ages of 22 and 28 and I’m hoping I continue to keep growing.”

Stockdale claimed two tries in last Friday’s 36-12 victory over the Ospreys in Belfast and actually crossed the line three times, but was denied his hat-trick due to a forward pass amid a long-range attack which he had set in motion himself.

“That would have been my first ever career hat-trick, so to get that one disallowed was pretty disappointing,” he admitted.

“But it was a great win. It was brilliant. I thought the forwards were fantastic. Fair play to them, they were crazy physical. I can only do what I do off the back of a very good performance from the forwards.”

Next up for Stockdale and Ulster is a trip to the Arms Park on Saturday evening.

“We are away to Cardiff, which can be a tough place to go, so we need to make sure we bring the same intensity and fire as we have brought for the last two weeks,” said the winger.