Jacob Stockdale: An old head on young shoulders

Even watching from the family sofa, Jacob Stockdale could see that Six Nations rugby was at a different level to anything else in the game.

Twelve months on, the Ireland wing is right in the thick of it and learning that the high-intensity nature of this grand old championship is not just confined to match days.

Stockdale, 21, wins his seventh Test cap today when he starts in the number 11 jersey against Wales at the Aviva Stadium and will take to the field with a new Ulster contract signed this week and all the confidence in the world that he can extend his remarkable try-scoring record of six tries in as many internationals and also deal with the attacking threat of opposing wing Liam Williams.

Yet with the focus of attention this weekend on Ireland’s injury-enforced introductions of Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Chris Farrell, it may be understandable to overlook the fact that Stockdale is not exactly a Six Nations veteran either.

Though his comfort levels are growing with every training session in the Irish camp, eight months after a try-scoring debut against the United States on tour last June, nothing could quite prepare the young Ulsterman for the demands of both playing in and training for a championship match.

He may have acquitted himself admirably against both South Africa and Argentina during November’s Guinness Series but his Six Nations debut against France in Paris three Saturdays ago was another matter altogether.

“That France game .... there aren’t many better ways to show you what Six Nations rugby is all about. It was a big step up,” Stockdale said. “Every game in the Six Nations is a final because you’re playing towards something and you need to win every game to win the Six Nations.

“That added incentive isn’t there in the November internationals.

“You want to play well in every game but it’s definitely a step up.

“There was a sense that there was something different here. It’s just that added bit of pressure because it’s something tangible that you are playing towards.”

Asked what has been most instructive about these championship weeks in February however, and Stockdale’s reply is telling.

“That’s a tough question to answer. It’s not just been in the games where I’ve realised what the Six Nations is all about.

“It’s the training and getting ready for the games is the big difference I’ve seen. Every minor detail is looked at. Everybody has to be 100 per cent nailed on to their job and 100 per cent switched on to what they have to do. If you switch off for a second, half a second in a Six Nations Test match, it could hurt you. That’s the big difference, how intensely we prepare for games.”

That has all been part of the learning curve for Stockdale as he takes his first steps on the Test ladder and the wing is appreciating the rugby education.

“The training is intense and it’s taught me how to train at that next level and how to keep your training level intense without burning out.

“I definitely am getting more used to it. I don’t know if I would ever describe it as daunting but it definitely is a big challenge. It’s always a big challenge but it’s something I am getting used to and starting to enjoy.

“It’s starting to become more and more like a routine now rather than something like ‘Wow this is something really different and special’.

“It’s something that I need to be wary of. It’s become something I’m comfortable with.”

He added: “If you don’t play well, there is an opportunity to learn from it. If you play well, there are also opportunities. At the stage I’m at in my career, it’s about taking as much information as I can from guys who are more experienced than me and from the coaches.”

Andrew Porter training yesterday. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Though he, Porter and James Ryan had been part of Ireland’s run to the 2016 U20 World Championship final, Stockdale admitted he has come a long way in a short amount of time, given he was watching his Ireland heroes from his parents’ sofa this time last year.

“The goal I had set myself was to be playing in the Six Nations by the time I was 23, so I didn’t see it coming. I’m incredibly happy.

“Now (the goal is) to win a Six Nations. I’m playing in it now and I want to win it. Further along from that, it’s World Cups and being successful with Ulster. I have a lot of goals still to achieve.”

Keeping Wales wrapped up defensively will be the most immediate goal and Stockdale is well aware of the threats potentially coming his way.

“They’ve brought in Dan Biggar and Liam Williams, which are two of their most experienced players. We know Dan Biggar is probably coming with a great kicking game and Liam Williams is really good in the air.

"They’re two really quality players and it’s going to be a tough ask but I’ve played against Liam Williams before and I have a bit of experience against him and he’s a good player but I think I should be able to handle him.”

If Stockdale can deal with Williams as adeptly as he can finesse his way through choppy domestic issues, then Ireland should have no fear.

Attention is drawn to the big tattoo on the wing’s right bicep, a cross with his family’s initials around it. He got it done when he was 19 but against his mother’s advice.

“I told my mum I was getting a tattoo and she said ‘you’re not getting a tattoo’.

“And I got it and she said ‘I can’t believe you got that’.

I was like, ‘I’ve got your initial on it’ and she goes ‘that’s actually quite nice, so it is’.

Wales beware.