You could never accuse Jacob Stockdale in lacking confidence.
The Ulster and Ireland winger is having one hell of a season and enjoying the increase in pressure and attention that comes with it.
While he had a couple of defensive blips in the humbling PRO14 loss to Leinster, last weekend, he kept on going until the end and was rewarded with a consolation try. Against La Rochelle, at Kingspan Stadium today, he was in the thick of it again.
The 21-year-old was needed in a defensive capacity for the opening 25 minutes as the French side tore into their hosts. However, when Charles Piutau was bumped mid-air by Paul Jordaan, Ulster had a man advantage to play with.
Piutau could see Jordaan coming and turned his back after claiming a high ball, before hitting the deck hard. Stockdale was first Ulsterman on the scene and he sparked a dust-up by dismissively patting the South African on the head.
Got to love @JacobStockdale
‘defusing’ the situation by patting a grown man on the head #ULSvLAR pic.twitter.com/kYJUPKph0f— Gareth Hanna (@GarethHanna11) January 13, 2018
That action, and Jordaan’s initial indiscretion, sparked a dust-up involving 20 players from both sides before referee Wayne Barnes and his officials calmed matters.
Stockdale then did what he does so terribly, destructively well – shift into gear, shrug off tackles and score tries.
Minutes after Rory Best got his team’s side of the scoreboard ticking with a nice try, Stockdale brushed off two La Rochelle defenders to craft a try out of nowhere.
Young Stockdale might still have a lot to learn defensively, but I've said it before and I'll say it again – stone-cold killer when he sees that white line in front of him #SUFTUMLive #ULSvLAR
— James Quinn (@JamesQuinn87) January 13, 2018
Jacob Stockdale "reptilian strength"#stockzilla#SUFTUM#ULSvLAR pic.twitter.com/LaudhmJSER
— David (@paddy_de) January 13, 2018
Did Stockdale just get described as having “reptilian strength”?
— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) January 13, 2018
That's a next-level wriggle-and-fend from Stockdale to escape the tackle and score… the ball *may* have gone forward before, but still…
— Alan Dymock (@AlanDymock) January 13, 2018
The young lad is loving life at the top.
