LONG READ Why Jacob Stockdale 2.0 is ready for an Ireland renaissance this summer

With James Lowe a likely Lions Tour selection lock-in, this writer set himself the task of observing the left wingers on display, at Aviva Stadium, as Ulster flung themselves in front of the Leinster juggernaut.

Jimmy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale wore 11 for their respective teams. O’Brien covers four backline positions while Stockdale is primarily a left winger that can cover fullback. Both will be eager to impress when Ireland take on Portugal and Georgia, under interim Ireland head coach Paul O’Connell, this summer.

In terms of auditioning for a coveted role, Stockdale won, hands-down. His duel with Tommy O’Brien, who would finish with a try, an assist and a man-of-the-match award, was enthralling. Both gave as good as they got. Both were the attacking catalyst for their team.

Stockdale made big gains on three of his kicks from hand, including one that forced Leinster into a lineout on their own five-metre line. Excellent handling from Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose caught him short, on 20 minutes, and he could not take down a charging Tommy O’Brien, who chipped over makeshift fullback Nathan Doak, regathered and scored. He came up with a first-half turnover, had three offloads to keep attacks alive, and one meaty fend that got him clear of Ringrose. His best moment arrived in the second half as he sparked a 40-metre break up the left wing as he stepped inside Tommy O’Brien, sprinted up-field and drew in a defender before putting Tom Stewart away. It was one of his four line-breaks, on the night.

Jimmy O’Brien had started slowly – missing a tackle on the charging James McNabney and failing to connect with Jamie Osborne on a promising attack – but grew into the game as Leinster asserted themselves. He forced a turnover when the Leinster defence was in scramble mode and set Osborne away in the lead-up to a try for Ringrose.

One could have easily walked away from that inter-provincial clash satisfied with an Ireland back three for this summer – Stockdale on the left, Tommy O’Brien on the right and Osborne at fullback. If you wanted to move either of those Leinster lads to centre, Jimmy O’Brien could easily slot into the back three.

Ulster coach Richie Murphy was clinging to the positives, post-match, despite the 41-17 scoreline. Leinster had been stressed, on several occasions, and Cormac Izuchkuwu’s try-scoring return was a boon. Asked about Stockdale, Murphy provided a fascinating answer.

“Jacob is in a really good place,” said Murphy. “He’s very fit, strong and he’s running really well. He’s taken up a more senior role in our team and is talking to a lot of young players out there and giving them bits of advice. He’s been a super influence on our group in the last season, really. He’s probably a better player than he was in 2018. He’s definitely a cleverer player, in relation to the game. It’s great to see him back out there.”

Simplifying his game and ‘just beating people’

Richie Murphy evoking the incredible Stockdale season of 2017/18 will be enough to turn heads. Stockdale was still only 21 when he scored 19 of his 20 tries that season. He had scored on his Test debut, against the USA, in the summer of 2017 and charged into the new campaign. He opened his season with five tries in five games, scored in victories over South Africa and Argentina, then won Player of the Six Nations as he scored seven tries in five matches as Ireland swept to a Grand Slam.

Stockdale would grab a sensational chip-and-chase try in a raucous home win over New Zealand, later that year. 2018 was an undoubted peak. There is a chance it may not be the peak, and that even greater days lie ahead. Stockdale has just turned 29 and is clear of the injury and confidence issues that virtually wiped out one season (2021/22) and beset others.

Former Ulster and Ireland centre Darren Cave played three seasons with Stockdale and has been heartened by the winger’s prolonged return to form. “Jacob always reminded me of Tommy Bowe,” says Cave. “Tommy would be chasing on to ball, it would hit his knee, ricochet off his shin, bounce into his arms and he would score. There were only so many times I could watch Tommy do something like that before I finally admitted, yes, he was skilful.”

“Jacob’s form, over the past few months, has been exceptional. It has been so long overdue, too. I don’t remember a player of his quality having so long of a dip. You can see now, when he plays, that everything has been simplified – I get the ball and I take people on. It is a pleasure to watch.”

Cave feels Stockdale fell into the trap of what happens to many young, talented wingers not long after they break through. “Everyone thinks he is a fullback or a centre, and loses focus on what got them there in the first place,” he notes. Stockdale’s hero, growing up, was Brian O’Driscoll and he harboured ambitions of playing outside centre, in his early years as a professional. Somewhat typically of his fast start as a senior, he played one Ulster game in the 13 jersey and ended up on the scoresheet.

Two more years 🙌

✍️ 2027 | Jacob Stockdale pic.twitter.com/OLQD0ijgUM

— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 24, 2024

In between the Rob Kearney and Hugo Keenan eras, Andy Farrell was desperate to lock in a new fullback. Stockdale had played there a handful of times for Ulster when Farrell handed him No. 15 jersey. He never looked as comfortable in the role as he did on the left wing, with his defence called into question. Even when he moved back to his strongest position, those questions lingered. It was something former Ulster winger Andrew Trimble took exception to, after a startling Twickenham loss to England. “Myself and Keith Earls would have talked about this before – the wingers are often the ones that score the tries and get the credit, which is great. But when things go badly, you’re the fall guy and I think Jacob was the fall guy this time. I think that’s badly unfair.”

“I’m 99% sure he was never as bad a defender as people said he was,” Cave agrees. “A lot of that was pub-talk, and something that gathered legs. I say that as someone who played, and defended, alongside him for a few years.

“Jacob spent lots of time trying to develop other aspects of his game. I love seeing him back where he is best suited and backing himself to take his man on. Putting the boot down and just beating people. He’s a big man, quick, has good feet, is wriggly and hard to bring down, and has a good hand-off.

“He was phenomenal, at the weekend. If you put Tommy O’Brien in that Ulster team, and Jacob Stockdale in Leinster’s everyone could have easily gone away raving about Jacob. It helps when you are playing for this sensational team that are just blitzing sides.”

Good players on bad teams

When it comes to potential summer tourists, Cave warms to the theme of Leinster providing the perfect platform for players with Test ambitions.

“It is sometimes hard to get across how bloody difficult it is to look good in a crap team. Look at the fly-half debate, right now. To me, Jack Crowley is a slightly better player than Sam Prendergast but he is playing for a Munster team that is really struggling. If Crowley was playing in that Leinster team, we’d all be saying he’s brilliant. On the face of it, he’s had to play even better for Munster as they’re finding themselves up against it so much. Jack shows his class against La Rochelle but it is soon forgotten as his team is shipping nearly 50 points to Bordeaux.

“It’s the same with someone like Nick Timoney. He has been beyond superb for Ulster, for years, in a very poor team. It is so difficult to really stand out when you’re in a really bad team.”

“I’m not saying Leinster players get picked for Ireland, just because they wear Leinster jerseys,” Cave adds. “They have so many class players. At the same time, being part of that collective makes it so much easier for them to stand out.”

One player Cave feels could do wonders for Paul O’Connell’s side, this summer, is Cormac Izuckukwu. “His lineout defence is great,” says Cave, “and he had three steals against Leinster. He has that physicality on the gainline and is a quality operator. The likes of Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony and Tadhg Beirne are all great players but that age profile, over the past couple of years, was not great. Ryan Baird came in but never really blew people away. Cormac has a big, big future. Himself and Thomas Ahern can be these über-athletic second-row/back-row hybrids.”

If Ireland want some proven internationals, this summer, to complement younger prospects, Cave puts forward Stuart McCloskey, Rob Herring and Iain Henderson. If O’Connell is seeking to deepen that player pool, he mentions Scott Wilson, Zac Ward and Tom Stewart.

As for a potential Ulster bolter? “James McNabney is a big, big man who is a confrontational at the gainline and has great potential,” says Cave. “As an Ulster fan, he’s someone I’d be excited to see in that Irish set-up.”