The Ulster winger started well at the Aviva Stadium and finished even better.
Jacob Stockdale simply belongs in Test rugby. He is the sort of remarkable player that is able to step up to each different level and not break his stride.
Ever since he eventually broke through to the first team at Wallace High School, he has not looked back. He starred on the underage scene and showed serious promise from the very first moment he was drafted into the Ulster senior team. He scored as try on his Ireland debut, in the summer, and now has two in three games.
Following Ireland’s 38-3 victory over South Africa, I spoke with former Springboks captain Jean De Villiers about the game. He had been expecting Ireland to put it up to his side but he never saw a 35-point flaking on the horizon.
As we parted ways – him to text home, me to watch Ireland frustrate Denmark – he exhaled and shook his head, “That Stockdale… you’ve got yourselves a player there.”
We certainly do. Such is the level of ability the 21-year-old possesses that his starting on the left wing in a massive game against the Boks was not even an issue. It was expected and Stockdale delivered.
Stockdale was on it from the very start. He gobbled up metres on each of his first three carries and was strong in the tackle. He went earnestly after the balls sent skyward by Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton. There was one knocked on and another that skittered out of play but, among that, there were a few fantastic claims.
There may have been questions over Stockdale’s defence – and he did fall off one tackle on Andries Coetzee – but there was an emphatic response in the 68th minute when Dillyn Leyd fetched the ball on the right wing and thought about a pass to Siya Kolisi. The thought had barely formed when he was whomped into the turf by a forceful Stockdale tackle.
Stockdale later told us:
“That’s something I’ve really tried to focus on this season and over the last two weeks with Ireland. It’s something that [Ireland defence coach] Andy Farrell has really helped me with. It’s not just about surviving in defence but starting to dominate.
“I feel like I’m starting to do that but, saying that, I’ve still a lot to learn but [that hit] was a pretty good feeling, so it was.”
It was a solid, 7/10 outing from Stockdale until Ireland went for the kill in the last quarter. He took a stunning line off the back of an Irish lineout and a set-play involving Sean O’Brien, Kieran Marmion and Sexton, and shredded the Boks defensive line before finding Andrew Conway on the right wing. Rhys Ruddock crashed over for a try some 15 seconds later.
Credit: RTEStockdale’s final contribution arrived with the crowd still applauding Sexton as his face appeared on the big screen and the man-of-the-match announcement was made. The winger pounced on another South African ball spilled in contact and made 15 metres before being hauled down.
He was back on his feet as the resulting ruck dispersed and was diving over for his first try, and Ireland’s fourth, 40 seconds later. More than enough to elevate him to an 8/10 and we would not argue with anyone looking to go higher.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbX1LShF2y6/?taken-by=sportsjoedotie
Stockdale later told us he wished he could play again on Sunday. He will be bristling on the training ground, today, and trying to force Joe Schmidt’s hand for selection ahead of that Fiji game on Saturday.
Schmidt may well be tempted to keep him in that No.11 jersey. If he does, Stockdale may not give it up again for a long time.
