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'O'Driscoll's punditry was very fair... it probably is somewhat unforgivable to have a mistake like that happen'
Jacob Stockdale believes the criticism of him by legendary fellow Irishman Brian O’Driscoll was justified after the Ulster player’s botched try-scoring attempt cost his province a Champions Cup quarter-final win over defending champions Leinster.
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Ulster were beaten 21-18 in the knockout game in Dublin, but they had a chance to take control of the match when the winger raced through a pile of tackles when they were two points ahead.
However, carrying the ball one-handed instead of diving with both hands on the ball, he failed to ground it properly over the try line and the score was chalked off by referee Romain Poite following a TMO review.
O’Driscoll, who was commentating on the match for BT Sport, branded the error as “unforgivable” and Stockdale, who was rolled out to do Ulster media this week ahead of their PRO14 match against Edinburgh on Friday agreed.
“To be honest it doesn’t really bother me. Brian was an incredibly good player and he is a legend in the game and you know what, it probably is somewhat unforgivable to have a mistake like that happen in a game.
“I think his punditry was very fair. You’re never going to agree 100 per cent with what somebody says about you but what he said was pretty fair,” said Stockdale, who apologised after the game to Ulster fans on his Instagram account
At the time of the incident O’Driscoll said: “It was brilliantly manufactured by Ulster and again he’d a fair bit of work to do but this unfortunately for Jacob Stockdale is unforgivable.
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”When you find yourself over the whitewash, yes there’s a player dragging out of him looking to get a challenge in, but you’ve got to dive. You’ve got to guarantee the ball goes down.
“There’s a risk, and obviously the one that we’ve just seen, of knocking the ball on or losing it in contact. That does not happen, or at least tends to happen far less frequently, when you dive.”
"This, unfortunately for Jacob Stockdale, is unforgivable!"
"He'd done all the hard work, all he had to do was fall!"@BrianODriscoll and @StephenFerris6 weigh in on the moment that shifted the momentum of the whole game…
A cruel, cruel blow for Ulster. pic.twitter.com/851lr4WwkM
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) March 30, 2019
The failure to score hit Stockdale hard. “It was obviously an incredibly tough couple of days for me after that game,” he revealed. “I made a mistake, I made a pretty big mistake. I’ll probably play it over in my head thousands and thousands of times.
“I know everyone has said to me that it’s not true, but I feel it cost us a semi-final place. The amount of people that came down to watch us and the amount of people who paid money to come and watch us, for them not to come away celebrating a victory because I dropped the ball over the line, I just felt that I had to apologise and I had to accept it was my fault and I suppose it was a way of moving on, to say ‘look, I’m sorry and it’ll never happen again’.”
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“The one thing that made it easier was the support I got,” he added. “That was the incredibly overwhelming thing and that gave me great respect for our fans. They were so kind of forgiving and were just like ‘mate, don’t worry about it’. That was really touching.”
"We've all been dealt some bad cards in rugby, but it's how you bounce back."
"He's going to be a top class player for many years to come and he won't make that mistake again."
Sam Warburton defends Jacob Stockdale after his costly mistake… pic.twitter.com/1eMNKlsP3l
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 2, 2019
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments